Key Takeaways
- While promoting her upcoming country album "Jesus & Whiskey" on "The Breakfast Club," K. Michelle doubled down on calling Morgan Wallen her favorite artist, arguing that people "pick and choose our outrage" over his 2021 racial slur controversy.
- She framed the endorsement as part of her long-running push to be taken seriously in country music, noting years of label resistance before finally landing a full-length country project after songs like "Jack Daniel's" and now "Jesus & Whiskey."
- The interview arrives as Wallen continues to dominate the charts despite ongoing legal issues and backlash, and as K. Michelle navigates her own headlines, including reports that iHeartRadio staff kept her away from former "Breakfast Club" co-host Angela Yee.
K. Michelle isn't distancing herself from Morgan Wallen—in fact, she's doing the opposite. While promoting her upcoming country album Jesus & Whiskey on The Breakfast Club, the Real Housewives of Atlanta unapologetically defended the country superstar, saying Wallen is still her favorite artist despite the firestorm surrounding his use of a racial slur in 2021.
Calling out what she sees as inconsistent public backlash, K. Michelle said, "It's funny how we pick and choose our outrage." She added that after hearing Wallen's explanation of the incident, she never changed her opinion of him, saying he remained her favorite artist.
Her endorsement also lands at a pivotal moment in her own career. The multi-platinum R&B star is preparing to release Jesus & Whiskey on October 16, her first full-length country album and the boldest reinvention of her career to date.
After debuting the title track on Live with Kelly and Mark, she's been making the media rounds to introduce fans to the project, which embraces the country influences she says shaped her long before she found success in R&B.
Her praise for Wallen didn't begin with this interview. Speaking with Us Weekly last year, K. Michelle singled out his song "Had It" as the track she wishes she'd written herself. "I went through that in a breakup," she said. "It's clever and straight to the point."
She has also spoken openly about the years she spent trying to convince record executives to let her make a country album before finally breaking through with singles like "Jack Daniel's" and now Jesus & Whiskey.
Wallen's career, meanwhile, has remained a study in contradictions. After video surfaced in 2021 showing him using the N-word outside his Tennessee home, radio stations pulled his music, award shows cut ties, and his label temporarily suspended him.
He later apologized, but the controversy became a flashpoint in the broader conversation about race, accountability, and cancel culture.
The interview also comes on the heels of another headline involving K. Michelle. Just days earlier, reports claimed iHeartRadio staff intentionally kept her separated from former Breakfast Club co-host Angela Yee during a visit to the network's New York headquarters.
