Morgan Wallen Says Racial Slur He Used Was 'Ignorant'

Morgan Wallen gave his first televised interview since using a racial slur on camera earlier this year. The country singer sat down with Michael Strahan on Good Morning America to address the incident from February, including what he's learned since then and the work he's done in the intervening months.

In the pre-taped interview, Strahan asked Wallen why he used the slur. "I was around some of my friends, and we just… we say dumb stuff together. And it was — in our minds, it’s playful. I don’t know, that sounds ignorant, but that’s really where it came from. And it’s wrong," Wallen said. Strahan then questioned Wallen about why he believed it was okay to use that word, to which Wallen replied: “I’m not sure, I think I was just ignorant about it. I don’t think I sat down and was like, ‘Is this right or is this wrong?’”

Wallen shared that a number of discussions after the video was made public helped him understand the serious matter. "I heard some stories in the initial conversations that I had after that, just about how people are treated even still today," he shared. "I haven't seen that with my eyes, that pain or that insignificant feeling, whatever it is that makes you feel."

As a result, Wallen decided to check himself into rehab for 30 days. "I spent some time out in San Diego, California, just trying to figure it out. Why am I acting this way? Do I have an alcohol problem? Do I have a deeper issue?” he told Strahan.

The musician said he planned to donate $500,000 to a variety of organizations, as well, including the Black Music Action Coalition. Wallen said he knows he's "not ever gonna make, you know, everyone happy" and he can only "come tell my truth, that's all I know to do."