Morgan Wallen‘s recent Saturday Night Live performance has been largely overshadowed by the singer’s controversial behavior on the show. But new reports reveal Wallen allegedly refused to participate in much more than the musical performance he signed up for.
Wallen quickly made headlines when he brusquely walked off stage at the end of the show without customarily acknowledging the SNL cast as credits rolled.
But Page Six reports he also refused to participate in a sketch that evening with Ego Nwodim, Chloe Fineman, Bowen Yang and Sarah Sherman, so boy bander Joe Jonas had to step in and fill his role.
“[Morgan] was asked but declined, so they got Joe instead,” an inside source said.
Wallen was reportedly “not super friendly” on set and did not participate in much more than “what he was asked” as the musical guest, according to Page Six.
“They had hopes he would do the pre-tape and perhaps more, but no joy,” the source said. They added Wallen walked off stage during dress rehearsal as well. “He was done,” they said.
This would not have been Wallen’s first time performing in an SNL sketch. After he was disinvited to the show in 2020 for breaking COVID-19 protocols, the singer appeared in a sketch and performed on the show just two months later.
To add fuel to the fire, Wallen seemingly bailed on the SNL after party and shared a photo from his private jet soon after the taping ended with the caption, “Get me to God’s country.” The post quickly went viral and became a meme, especially after SNL writer Josh Patten spoofed it on his personal Instagram account.
SNL star Kenan Thompson also expressed some confusion over Wallen’s abrupt exit.
“I don’t know if he understood the assignment or not, or if he was really feeling a certain kind of way,” he told Entertainment Weekly of the singer, later adding, “It’s definitely a spike in the norm. We’re so used to everybody just turning around and high-fiving us, everybody’s saying, ‘Good job, good job, good job.’ So when there’s a departure from that, it’s like, hmm, I wonder what that’s about?”
Variety and TMZ report that Wallen did not mean anything by the snub and simply exited the studio the same way he did during rehearsals.
Despite the backlash, NBC insiders claim there is “no bad blood” between the network and Wallen, noting he could certainly be invited back onto the show. If he does return to Studio 8H, will Wallen be able to play nice?
