Eric Church reached out to Morgan Wallen in the wake of Wallen's recent N-word controversy, but he makes it very clear that he will not defend his actions.

In a new interview with Billboard, the country superstar says he sent Wallen a note telling him that he was praying for him and to keep "hanging in there" after a video of Wallen using the N-word went viral.

Wallen has hailed Church as his musical hero, but while Church is hoping for the best for the younger singer, he's absolutely clear about his position on the video.

“That was indefensible," he says flatly. "I was heartbroken when it happened. I think Morgan’s trying to work on that and on himself. And I hope he does.”

Wallen has faced enormous consequences since TMZ aired the video of him using the N-word on Feb. 2. His music was dropped from country radio and streaming services, he was removed from consideration for the ACM Awards and his recording contract was indefinitely suspended. The singer has apologized, and he has remained almost entirely out of the spotlight in the months since then.

Wallen's career has continued to build in country music despite the controversy and the fallout surrounding it. His latest release, Dangerous: The Double Album, is the runaway success story of 2021 in country music. The album just spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

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