Wallen booked his second “SNL” gig as a musical guest for March 29, 2025. He performed two songs from his forthcoming album, “I’m the Problem.”
As the episode came to a close, Wallen stood beside the host, “Anora” star Mikey Madison, as she delivered the requisite thank-yous. After giving Madison a quick hug, Morgan left the stage and exited the studio, walking right in front of the camera. Per tradition, Madison remained onstage with the “SNL” cast as the credits rolled.
The video clip of Wallen’s hasty exit quickly began making the rounds online. Critics interpreted the move as casually disrespectful at best or intentionally rude at worst — chatter that intensified when Wallen shared a photo on his Instagram story, apparently taken from his private jet. He captioned the post, “Get me to God’s country.”
The following Monday, “SNL” veteran Kenan Thompson shared his confused reaction to Wallen’s exit.
“It’s definitely a spike in the norm,” Thompson told Entertainment Weekly. “We’re so used to everybody just turning around and high-fiving us, everybody’s saying, ‘Good job, good job, good job.’ So when there’s a departure from that, it’s like, hmm, I wonder what that’s about?”
“It just felt so abrupt. And it was already such a small grouping on the stage anyway,” he continued. “So it was just like, oh wow, that was pretty visible.”
Despite speculation, sources in Wallen’s camp told Variety that his exit was not intended as a slight or statement — only that he wasn’t aware how it would appear on camera.
Representatives for Wallen did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
