NAshville, Tennessee – Nashville aldermen rejected plans for a bright sign to be erected at Morgan Wallen’s new bar along the city’s neon-lit strip of honky tonks, citing its use of a racial slur that caused controversy in 2021 and recent criminal charges accusing the country star of throwing a chair from the roof near two police officers.
The Nashville Metro Council voted 30-3 Tuesday night against the proposed sign at Morgan Wallen’s This Bar & Tennessee Kitchen, which is expected to open this weekend. The sign would be hanging on a public sidewalk, similar to those on many neighboring bars. Such a sign requires local government approval and is generally not a controversial process.
During the debate, councilors called Wallen’s comments hateful and his actions harmful. They also said the artist was given several second chances.
“I don’t want to see a billboard with a person’s name throwing chairs off balconies and saying racial slurs,” said Councilwoman Delishia Porterfield, who is black.
Councilman Jacob Kupin introduced the proposal, but said he “thought long and hard” about what to do because of Wallen’s behavior. He said the third-party organization managing the business, TC Restaurant Group, has been “a really good partner” and has worked to make downtown Nashville safer.
The Associated Press reached out to Wallen’s publicist and TC Restaurant Group seeking comment on the board’s vote.
“Just because someone’s name appears in a bar doesn’t mean we condone all the behavior, but again, I appreciate the efforts to make amends, the positive response, and again, the operators themselves, I don’t think they should be penalized for the what happened,” said Kupin.
An initial hearing in Wallen’s criminal case has been postponed until Aug. 15. According to an arrest affidavit, the chair Wallen is accused of throwing from the roof of the six-story Chief’s bar on April 7 landed about three feet from two police officers. Witnesses told officers they saw Wallen pick up a chair, throw it off the roof and laugh about it.
He faces three felony counts of reckless endangerment and a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.
In a statement released by Wallen, he said he accepted “responsibility” and was “not proud” of his behavior. The statement mentioned making “reparations” and contacting authorities.
Wallen’s album “One Thing at a Time” spent 16 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 in 2023 and was the most consumed album in the US last year. The album’s top 10 hits include “Last Night,” “You Proof” and “Thinkin’ Bout Me.”
In 2021, Wallen was suspended indefinitely from his record label after video surfaced of him shouting a racial slur, which he would later make known. say I was ignorant about him using.
The Kid Rock bar, not far from Wallen’s new establishment, was the place a previous signal controversy. Before the 2019 vote, some councilors lamented the design that features a giant guitar in which the base of the instrument is intentionally shaped like a woman’s buttocks. Ultimately, they approved.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
