The head of Morgan Wallen’s record label denied the country singer was “too drunk” to perform his canceled concert in Oxford, Miss.
After Sunday’s performance, a TikTok user shared a video of a security guard at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium telling attendees that Wallen, who was allegedly drunk, “could not walk” and had to be evacuated by ambulance.
“Losing your voice is nonsense,” the unnamed police officer added in the video, which was watched more than 3.6 million times.
However, both the guard’s employer and Wallen’s company denied the claim.
“A hired employee of BEST Crowd Management made false claims about last night’s Morgan Wallen concert, and we don’t stand by the details in her statement,” the security company said on its Instagram Story on Monday.
Seth England, CEO and co-founder of Big Loud Records, republished the message in his Story, adding: “Thank you @bestcrowdmanagement for correcting your employee who created an untrue story. Every detail was wrong.”
“It’s ridiculous what some people have to say for the backlash,” Britain added.
The nearly 60,000 country music fans who gathered at the Ole Miss football stadium on Sunday were informed minutes before the show time that the 29-year-old Wallen had “lost his voice” and therefore “cannot perform”.
Opening curtains Hardy, Ernest, and Nate Smith were already on stage at that point, and many ticket holders also purchased food, beverages, and merchandise.
“Totally disappointed at @MorganWallen!! He has been sitting in this stadium for 3 hours and just announced that the show has been cancelled!!! COMPLETE BULLS–T!!!” a fan tweeted.
“You can’t cancel a show 5 minutes before showtime. Period. If he was sick or had no voice, he knew it long before. pathetic” another twitter user wrote.
Wallen later apologized and revealed on his Instagram Story that he “spent the day resting and talking”. [his] doctor and work through [his] vocal exercises” but still “couldn’t sing”.
“I’m so sorry,” he added. “I promise you guys, I tried everything I could.”
The “Sand in My Boots” singer has since planned three additional stops during her “doctor-ordered vocal rest” on her One Night at a Time World Tour.
A concert attendee sued Wallen for Sunday’s canceled performance, saying he had not yet received the refund he had promised in court documents obtained by Page Six, and also “wanted to be reimbursed for other out-of-pocket expenses.” including selling, transaction fees and other similar expenses.”
While the lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed on Tuesday, lawyers said they plan to reopen it as a class action lawsuit to “claim damages on behalf of everyone affected, not just one person.”