What happened with Morgan Wallen on SNL? Singer sparks backlash with abrupt walk-off before end credits roll
American country music singer Morgan Wallen appeared as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live's March 29, 2025 episode. However, he is now trending not for what he did during the show but for his actions towards the end.
The 31-year-old was seen walking off the stage and moving past the camera while the end credits were still rolling. Before that, he seemed to whisper something in the ear of actress Mikey Madison, who was hosting the episode. Morgan Wallen is now facing backlash for his behavior, as users on the social media site X are calling him out—
“Morgan Wallen walking off before the SNL credits were even over… yeah there’s a special place in hell for that man,” a netizen wrote.
“Morgan Wallen said I didn’t want to be here either. That’s exactly what the show gets for having him in the first place #SNL,” another netizen wrote.
Others continued to chime in—
“Why would he book the appearance if he doesn’t want to be there?” a person asked.
“No class whatsoever," wrote another.
The Tennessee crooner hasn’t responded to the criticism yet. However, he took to his Instagram Stories after the episode to post a picture of a private jet parked on a runway, with the caption, “Get me to God’s country” written over it.
According to insiders’ statements to Variety and Fox News, the Grammy nominee’s walk-off was unintentional and it was something he also did during the rehearsal.
Morgan Wallen has previously faced controversy on SNL
During his latest appearance on SNL, Morgan Wallen debuted his new single I’m the Problem from the upcoming album of the same name, which is set to release on May 16, 2025. He also performed the song Just in Case from his recent LP.
This is not the first time Morgan has appeared on SNL as a musical guest. In December 2020, he made his debut on the late-night sketch comedy show, where he performed 7 Summers and Still Goin’ Down.
However, he went viral for joking about the scandal surrounding him at the time during a sketch with Pete Davidson, Jason Bateman, and Bowen Yang, in which he thanked SNL for "giving this poor Southern boy a second Yankee chance."
In October 2020, Wallen was caught on camera kissing several college girls and drinking shots at a party in Alabama after a college football game. He faced backlash for his behavior and for not wearing a mask despite COVID-19 restrictions. That same month, he was disinvited from SNL for the same reason.
“I got a call from the show letting me know that I will no longer be able to play, and that’s because of Covid protocols, which I understand… I’m not positive for Covid but my actions this past weekend were pretty shortsighted and they have obviously affected my long-term goals and my dreams,” he said at the time in an IGTV video.
“I think I've lost myself a little bit. I've tried to find joy in the wrong places, and it's left me with less joy. So I'mma go try to work on that. I'm gonna take a step back from the spotlight for a while and go work on myself.”
Mikey Madison, 26, hosted SNL this Saturday at Studio 8H in New York City, making her debut on the show after winning the Oscar for Best Actress this year for her role in Anora. She was also present alongside Morgan Wallen at the end of the recent episode and thanked everyone, including Morgan, adding that she had a “wonderful time."
While Madison blew air kisses, the country musician was seen signing off with finger salutes, embracing her, and whispering something in her ear before walking off the stage. However, Mikey stayed on stage and interacted with the performers.