Country artist Morgan Wallen has been disqualified from performing or receiving any recognition during the next Academy of Country Music Awards, the organization announced on Wednesday, as the star continues to face reaction to a viral video showing him casting a racial slur on the front of friends.
The first round of voting for the award program, which is due to run on April 18, has now ended. Wallen’s name will be removed from the contest’s second round of voting, which is due to begin on February 10, according to ACM.
“The Country Music Academy will stop Morgan Wallen’s potential involvement and eligibility for 56º Academy of Country Music Awards cycle, ” a statement from the Academy says.
“The Academy does not tolerate or support intolerance or behavior that is not in line with our commitment and dedication to diversity and inclusion.”
ACM, which hosts the smallest of the two biggest country music awards behind the November Country Music Association Awards, also announced that it would remove all of Wallen’s digital content from its website.
The 27-year-old won the CMA award for “Best New Artist” last year.
Wallen was also suspended “indefinitely” by his record company on Wednesday, after TMZ first reported a video showing the Tennessee native saying the word with N after a night of drinking in Nashville.
Its radio stations had a huge success this week after the scandal – dropping nearly 80 percent after iHeartRadio and Cumulus Media, the country’s two largest radio stations, instructed their stations to stop playing Wallen’s music, according to a report from Variety.
Wallen apologized for the incident on Wednesday, calling his actions “unacceptable and inappropriate”.
“I am ashamed and sorry. I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slander that I wish I could remove, ”he said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight. “There is no excuse for using this type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologize for using that word. I promise to do better. “
It is not yet clear whether Wallen will be barred from future awards, including this year’s CMA Awards.