Morgan Wallen Books New ‘Saturday Night Live’ Date After Cancellation Due to COVID Non-Compliance
Morgan Wallen has set a new date for his first-ever appearance on Saturday Night Live. The country hitmaker is now set to make his SNL debut on Dec. 5.
Wallen turned to social media to reveal the new date on Wednesday (Nov. 25), posting a new lineup that includes Ozark star Jason Bateman as the host for Dec. 5.
"Let's try this again," Wallen writes.
The new show date comes just slightly under two months after Wallen was originally slated to make his debut on the iconic sketch comedy on Oct. 10. SNL producers ended up scrapping Wallen's appearance after viral videos of the singer partying maskless with fans in multiple different locations after attending an Oct. 3 University of Alabama football game made the rounds on Twitter and TikTok, sparking widespread coverage in mainstream publications including Variety and the Washington Post.
Jack White ended up filling in for Wallen on Oct. 10. SNL creator and longtime showrunner Lorne Michaels called Wallen personally to deliver the news that he was being dropped due to violating the show's COVID-19 protocols so soon before a live show, but he was philosophical when he gave an interview to Willie Geist on Today after the news broke.
"He probably isn't the first country singer, the first person from rock 'n' roll who partied after a big, in that case, a football game, or a concert," Michaels reflected at the time. "We're just living in a different time, and everything is scrutinized."
Wallen's SNL snafu came at the end of an unusually up-and-down period for the singer that included an arrest in Nashville in May following an incident at Kid Rock's downtown bar. He was released on bond shortly after his arrest, and a judge declined to prosecute Wallen on charges of public intoxication and disorderly conduct in July.
Wallen also became a father in July, welcoming a son named Indigo Wilder with his ex-fiancee.
The 27-year-old singer decided to step away from the spotlight for a while after his SNL appearance was canceled to "work on me," admitting, "I think I have some growing up to do."
"You know, I think I've lost myself a little bit," he reflected. "I've tried to find joy in the wrong places, and, I don't know, it's left me with less joy. So I'm going to go try to work on that. I'm gonna take a step back from the spotlight for a little while and go work on myself."
The singer has since returned to action in a big way, performing "More Than My Hometown" and winning New Artist of the Year at the 2020 CMA Awards on Nov. 11.
He is set to release a new double album titled Dangerous on Jan. 8, 2021.