Hayley Williams calls out Morgan Wallen for racism

Hayley Williams calls Morgan Wallen racist years after 2021 N-word controversy

Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams has publicly called Morgan Wallen a racist, four years after the country singer was caught using a racial slur. Speaking on The New York Times’ Popcast podcast, Williams confirmed that her pointed lyric in “Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party” — which references “a racist country singer’s bar” — was indeed aimed at Wallen.

“It could be a couple [of people], but I’m always talking about Morgan Wallen. I don’t give a s***,” said the 35-year-old singer. When asked what she would say if Wallen confronted her, she bluntly added, “Find me at Whole Foods, b****. I don’t care.”

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Popcast (@popcast)

The feud has resurfaced as Wallen, 31, continues to face scrutiny over past controversies — most notably, a 2021 incident where he was caught on video drunkenly shouting the N-word outside his Nashville home. The backlash led to temporary bans from major radio networks and streaming platforms. However, Wallen's popularity only seemed to grow, with his music streams surging by 500% shortly after the scandal.

In a later interview with Good Morning America’s Michael Strahan, Wallen said he hadn’t considered whether the support he received could signal deeper racial issues within the country music industry. He also reportedly reached out to the Nashville chapter of the NAACP, but later cut off contact and resumed touring.

Wallen made headlines again in April 2024 after throwing a chair off the sixth floor of Chiefs, a Nashville bar owned by fellow musician Eric Church. The chair narrowly missed hitting police officers on the street. In newly released bodycam footage, Wallen appeared intoxicated and denied involvement, telling officers, “I ain't done nothing wrong.” He later pled guilty to two misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment in December 2024 and was sentenced to seven days in a DUI education facility, followed by two years of supervised probation.