Morgan Wallen Songwriter to Donate His Cut From Album Sales to NAACP in Wake of N-Word Video

Jason Isbell, a songwriter on Morgan Wallen's 'Dangerous: The Double Album,' has announced that he's giving his share of royalties to the NAACP.

Morgan Wallen attends the 54th annual CMA Awards.
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Image via Getty/Jason Kempin

Morgan Wallen attends the 54th annual CMA Awards.

One of the songwriters on Morgan Wallen’s latest album Dangerous: The Double Album has pledged to donate his share of royalties  to the NAACP.

This declaration from Jason Isbell, the only writer credited on the song “Cover Me Up,” comes after a video surfaced earlier this month showing Wallen using the N-word while speaking with friends outside of his home in Nashville. 

In response to the incident, Wallen’s label Big Loud suspended his recording contract indefinitely, while country music stations have pulled his music from their playlists, but sales of his latest album have only grown exponentially. Dangerous finished No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this past week after a 14 percent spike compared to last week’s numbers. On Feb. 3 alone, Wallen’s second studio effort moved 7,000 units, an increase of 511 percent from the previous day. 

On Wednesday, Isbell announced via Twitter that any money he earns off Dangerous will be given to the NAACP’s Nashville branch. 

NAACP Nashville president Sheryl Guinn has offered to start a dialogue with Wallen about his use of the word. “Because he was such a prominent celebrity and an artist here in Nashville—I mean, he’s living here—we would love for him to have that conversation with us,” Guinn said. “I mean, we invite him to come and have that conversation with us, the NAACP, as to why that word is so hurtful.” 

Wallen was pulled as the musical guest for an October episode of Saturday Night Live after TikTok videos surfaced of him kissing random women at a party where all attendees were maskless. In his apology video, the 27-year-old said he was removed for violating COVID-19 protocols. He returned to perform on SNL two months later, and even appeared in a sketch where he poked fun at the incident that got him in trouble. 

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