- Morgan Wallen canceled his Sunday concert minutes before he was slated to take the stage.
- After many fans were already in the stadium at Ole Miss, a message appeared saying the show was off.
- The country singer later apologized, writing on Instagram, "It kills me to deliver this so close to showtime."
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The controversial country singer Morgan Wallen upset many of his fans on Sunday night after he canceled his concert minutes before he was slated to perform.
Some fans who attended the show at the Vaught Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi, documented the experience on social media after being met with a black-and-white message on the stage's big screen, announcing the last-minute cancelation.
"Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately, Morgan has lost his voice and is unable to perform tonight," the message read, according to photos on social media. "Therefore, tonight's show has been canceled. Please make your way safely to the stadium exits. Refunds for tonight's event will be available at point of purchase."
—Megan Lynn (@SouthernMama333) April 24, 2023Insider reached out to representatives for Wallen on Monday, who pointed to the country singer's statement on Instagram to explain why he had to bow out of the show.
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In the statement, the 29-year-old musician apologized, saying there was nothing he could do after trying to get his voice to return.
"After last night's show I started losing my voice so I spent the day resting up, talking to my doctor and working through my vocal exercise trying to get better," his statement began.
"I really thought I'd be able to take the stage and it kills me to deliver this so close to showtime, but my voice is shot and I am unable to sing," Wallen wrote. "I am so sorry, I promise you guys I tried everything I could."
In a follow-up statement, also shared on his Instagram story, Wallen said he feels "horrible about this news."
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"Y'all know how important my fans are to me," he wrote. "There's nothing more I want to do than be on stage playing for you guys."
The former "The Voice" contestant also announced that, due to "doctor-ordered vocal rest," he would reschedule his remaining shows this week in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Moline, Illinois; and Lincoln, Nebraska.
"I appreciate and understand everything you do to get to my shows, so it would be unfair of me to put on a show that I know will not be 100%," he wrote. "I'm doing everything I can to speed up the process of getting to that 100% mark."
Concertgoers have been open about their disappointment online. One even filed a federal lawsuit on Monday accusing Wallen of breach of contract and negligence, according to court documents obtained by Page Six and TMZ.
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Others have shared their experiences on TikTok, with one fan complaining that she drove 11 hours to attend the Mississippi show.
"Thank you, Morgan Wallen. I was a major fan and now I will never fucking listen to your music again," she said in the video, which has racked up more than 5 million views on the app.
Another concertgoer shared a video of a security guard at the venue, who claimed Wallen's real reason for canceling was intoxication.
"Losing his voice is bull crap," the security guard said, adding, "Too drunk. And the ambulance just took him off."
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However, the venue's security company, Best Crowd Management, denied the security guard's claims in a statement shared on Instagram.
"A hired employee of BEST Crowd Management made false claims as it related to last night's Morgan Wallen concert and we do not stand behind the detail in his statement," the company wrote. "Please refer to Morgan's social media pages for details."
Back in 2021, Wallen checked himself into rehab after TMZ published a video of him yelling a racial slur.
Following intense backlash, Big Loud Records suspended Wallen's recording contract "indefinitely" and major radio stations pulled his songs from rotation.
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Wallen later told fans he was "on hour 72 of 72-hour bender" when the incident was recorded.
"I had some longtime friends in town and we had been partying all weekend. We just figured we'd go hard. I was around some of my friends and we say dumb stuff together. In our minds, it's playful," he said in an interview with "Good Morning America" host Michael Strahan.
"It was just around this certain group of friends," he said, adding, "We were all clearly drunk."
Wallen spent 30 days in rehab in San Diego, "just trying to figure out if I have an alcohol problem or a deeper issue," he said.
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However, just a few weeks after the interview, Wallen made a cameo at Luke Bryan's concert in Nashville and took tequila shots onstage.
Despite his controversial behavior over the years — including being arrested for public intoxication and partying without a mask at the height of the pandemic — Wallen's album "One Thing at a Time" is currently No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this week for the seventh week in a row.
The country star made history last week after three of his songs, "Last Night," "Though You Should Know," and "One Thing at a Time," landed in the top 10 of Billboard's Country Airplay chart.
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