After an intriguing and abrupt exit after his musical guest appearance on Saturday Night Live, country superstar Morgan Wallen turned heads again, leaving the stage early after whispering something briefly to host Mikey Madison before bolting off-camera, raising eyebrows about behind-the-scenes tensions and sparking rumors across social media.
Before the fiasco, Wallen performed two songs, “Just in Case” and “I’m the Problem,” from his highly anticipated upcoming album. Following his performance, host Mikey Madison began to thank the cast and audience when Wallen quickly leaned in, muttered a few words to Madison, and made an unusual beeline off the stage, clearly avoiding the traditional farewell hugs and acknowledgments that close each SNL episode.
Almost immediately afterward, Wallen fueled further speculation by sharing a story on his Instagram showing a private plane with the caption, “Get me to God’s country.” The post caused speculation that Wallen’s rapid exit indicated discomfort or dissatisfaction with the famously liberal atmosphere at SNL and their turn from a funny sketch comedy show to left-wing propaganda.
Social media went wild, praising Wallen for his walk-off and acknowledging the decline in public enjoyment of the program, which has been notorious recently. A user on X commented, “Country singer Morgan Wallen walks off the SNL stage without recognizing any of the staff. My respect for him is so based. SNL is officially irrelevant.”
Another social media user compared SNL to The View, the controversial daytime talk show hosted by women known for being extremely liberal. In the hilarious X post, the user remarked, “SNL is nothing more than a sketch show version of The View. They have alienated the majority of Americans. What did they think would happen? How long before the show gets canceled?”
The walk-off has fans wondering if a more profound issue exists, perhaps Wallen is signaling to his fans that he doesn’t support the crazy liberal beliefs that thrive in the SNL ethos. X users chimed in, “I am sure Morgan would do it again. He is not the least bit worried about the lefty people at SNL. I’m glad he took the money and walked off the set towards the camera. He will not rub elbows with people he disagrees with. Serious Kudos to Morgan Wallen!”
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Sources close to Wallen said that his exit wasn’t intentionally disrespectful, explaining that it was simply how Wallen had been entering and exiting rehearsals all week, dismissing any drama. Still, despite these reassurances, speculation continued to swirl online; another user joked, “Morgan spent a week in New York with a bunch of self-aggrandizing wokesters. I’d be ready to bounce, too.”
An SNL cast member, Kenan Thompson, addressed Wallen’s unusual behavior in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, noting how uncommon the abrupt departure was. Thompson remarked, “I don’t know if he understood the assignment or not, or if he was really feeling a certain kind of way… I thought maybe he had to go to the potty or something… It’s definitely a spike in the norm. We’re so used to everybody just turning around and high-fiving us, everybody’s saying, ‘Good job, good job.’ So when there’s a departure from that, it’s like, hmm, I wonder what that’s about?” Watch the clip here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video