I honestly don’t blame him for not wanting to be part of this sketch…
The walk out seen around the world has become national news, and of course I’m referring to Morgan Wallen’s abrupt exit from Saturday Night Live after an appearance timed to promote his upcoming album, I’m The Problem, as well as the corresponding tour, this past weekend. But the ultra-viral clip is from the end of the show, when it appeared that the country star was making a beeline to get the heck out of Studio 8H, when most guests stand around and chat with the cast until the credits are completely over.
During SNL’s signature end of show sendoff – where the cast, host and musical guest all say goodbye to the audience and hug and chat – the country music singer gave his pleasantries to host Mikey Madison (who won the 2025 Oscar for “Best Actress” for her performance in Anora) and then Wallen walked right off the stage.
Thank you, Mikey Madison and @MorganWallen! Goodnight! pic.twitter.com/FDlInhhHqb
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) March 30, 2025
Shortly after walking off set, it seemed like Morgan really was ready to leave and catch a private plane back to Tennessee, sharing a rare non-promotional Instagram story saying:
“Get Me Back To God’s Country.”
Morgan Wallen on Instagram Stories after his #SNL performances pic.twitter.com/S89xjcgIqs
— Saturday Night Network (@thesnlnetwork) March 30, 2025
TMZ spoke to a source close to Wallen about the incident, who said that Morgan meant nothing by his exit and he “entered and exited” the studio the same way he did in rehearsal and camera blocking all week:
“We’re told he entered and exited the studio the same way he did Saturday night during rehearsal and camera blocking all week leading up to the live show… so he routinely headed that way when he thought it was time to go.”
Honestly, I did think it was a bit odd for him to exit that way when no other guest really has and he’s been on the show before, so he knows how it works, but also can’t blame him for wanting to get out of there. Even in the show teasers, fans were quick to point out that Morgan looked like he wasn’t all that thrilled about being there, and he has a checkered past with the show to say the least, so maybe he didn’t want to do it… but it’s hard to pass up press like that, I guess? He definitely doesn’t need SNL, so he could’ve just said no, but I digress…
People have been trying to get to the bottom of this whole thing ever since Saturday night, and it has become a major national new story for some inexplicable reason. And one fan in particular might have the missing piece to this whole fiasco. We’ve heard theories about executive producer Lorne Michaels being rude, and other SNL cast members have spoken out about it, though we still don’t have much in the way of details on whether or not Morgan was upset and didn’t want to be there, or if it really was just an innocent misunderstanding.
Well, according to Page Six, things weren’t exactly going well all week leading up to Saturday, as they learned from a source that Morgan “declined” to be part of a sketch, and last-minute, they brought in pop star Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers to save the day, so to speak. They claim that Morgan was “not super friendly” to others on set, and there was “no joy”:
“[Morgan] was asked but declined, so they got Joe instead. They had hopes he would do the pre-tape and perhaps more, but no joy.”
They added that Morgan “did what he was asked” by performing as the musical guest, but that was the extent of it, and it was apparently the same insider that shared the previous information about Morgan entering and exiting “the same way” at the end of the show as he did in rehearsals all week.
The sketch they’re referring to features Joe alongside cast members Ego Nwodim, Chloe Fineman, Bowen Yang and Sarah Sherman, as well as host Mikey Madison, making fun of people who stand in ridiculous lines in New York City to get a viral bagel or something like that, and it really leaves much to be desired… I’m guessing Morgan didn’t want to participate because this is simply not funny.
No shade to Joe, I’m a diehard Jonas Brothers fan and have been since about 2007, but this is just not it for me. Morgan did participate in a sketch during his first SNL appearance, and it was actually pretty funny, so maybe he just didn’t connect with it the same way? It’s not in the contract that musical guests always appear in sketches the way the hosts do, so it’s his prerogative to decline.
But I keep thinking, if Morgan didn’t want to be there as badly vs all these “sources” are claiming, then why would he even do it? I know it’s big press, especially for fans outside of country who probably don’t follow the genre much at all, but Morgan is a global superstar and there’s lot of other ways to gin up press for a big album release where you won’t be so miserable.
Even though an NBC rep has already come out and said that Morgan is welcome back, I highly doubt that’s going to be happening anytime soon… or ever.
Here’s the “Big Dumb Line” sketch they wanted Morgan to be part of:
And the first (and only) SNL sketch he participated in:
During performance of “Just In Case,” Morgan also shared some of the song titles from the whopping 37-song tracklist that makes up his new record on a TV behind him.
Here’s what flashed across the TV’s screen (listed in the order in which they appeared), including “Come Back As A Redneck”:
2: I Got Better
4: What I Want (feat. _)
8: Skoal, Chevy, and Browning
14: Where’d That Girl Go
15: Genesis
21: Come Back as a Redneck (feat. _)
34: LA Night
35: Miami
You can watch the performance here:
“Just In Case”
