Former ‘The Voice’ Contestant Replaced on SNL Due to COVID-19 Protocols

Saturday Night Live is back for season 46 with strict safety protocols in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. For the second episode of the season, the show revoked an invitation to planned musical guest Morgan Wallen due to violations of some of those protocols.

On Saturday, October 10, Morgan Wallen was set to appear on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest, but he announced before the show aired that he would no longer be appearing on the show.

“I got a call from the show letting me know I will no longer be able to play,” he said in an Instagram video. “I respect the show’s decision because I know that I put them in jeopardy and I take ownership for this.”

Wallen Was Replaced After COVID Safety Protocols Were Violated

Days before he was kicked off the show’s roster, Wallen was seen in TikTok videos without a facial covering in a crowded bar, NPR reported. Those videos were taken on Saturday, October 3, just a week before Wallen was set to be on SNL. 

“I wish I could have made country music and my fans proud this Saturday,” Wallen said in his emotional Instagram video.

He said that there were no hard feelings with the show and they would find a future time for him to appear as the musical guest, adding that he spoke directly with Lorne Michael, showrunner of SNL. 

“Lorne Michael actually gave me a lot of encouragement by letting me know that we’ll find another time to make this up,” he said. “So that means a lot to me.”

Wallen Was a Contestant on ‘The Voice’ in 2014

Wallen first hit the country music scene in 2014 when he was a contestant on The Voice. Though he didn’t make it all the way through and win the show, he was a contestant up through the semifinals.

Just a year later, Wallen was signed to Panacea Records and released an EP. He has since released multiple EPs and one studio album, If You Know Me, which was released in April 2018 with Big Loud record label.

Wallen has had many songs hit the charts including 7 Summers, which released in August 2020. That song broke the record for most first-day streams for a country song on Apple Music and hit the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, according to Country Now. His previous hit, If I Know Me also broke a record, becoming the first song to reach number one on the country charts after 114 weeks.

In May 2020, Wallen was arrested in downtown Nashville, according to WSMN News 4 Nashville. He had been kicked out of Kid Rock’s bar by security at around 11 p.m. for being disorderly.

According to the report, Wallen smelled of alcohol and was given the opportunity to go home, but he refused and officers arrested him. He later apologized for the incident on Twitter, saying that he and his friends “didn’t mean any harm” and wanted to apologize to the bar staff and thank the police for being professional.

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