‘DO BETTER’

Morgan Wallen Wins 3 Billboard Awards Despite Ban From Appearing at Show

While initial backlash for a video showing Wallen using a racial slur was severe, the country star’s fan base was seemingly not deterred.

The Billboard Music Awards announced ahead of its Sunday evening broadcast that country music star Morgan Wallen, who was banned from appearing at the show, had won awards in three categories. Wallen was dropped by his booking agency WME, Spotify and Apple pulled his songs from their curated playlists, and he was not allowed to physically appear at the Billboard awards, after a video surfaced of him drunkenly yelling the N-word. At the time, the 28-year-old told E! News that his language had been “unacceptable” and he promised “to do better.”

However, accusations of racism haven’t seemed to deter Wallen’s fan base. Billboard’s award nominations are based on a number of metrics, including an artist’s performance on Billboard charts and radio airplay, which led to Wallen being nominated in six categories at this year’s awards. According to Sunday’s announcement, Wallen won Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist, and Top Country Album for his new record, Dangerous: The Double Album.