Morgan Wallen has seen a surge in album sales following a video in which he said a racist slur was spreading online earlier this week.
The country star has faced major fallout since the clip surfaced, with his label Big Loud dropping him and radio stations removing his music from their playlists.
Despite this, sales of his albums soared in the 24 hours after the video first appeared. According to MRC Data, Wallen sold 22,500 copies of his albums in the US on February 3 – a 339 percent increase from the day before.
The musician’s latest album ‘Dangerous: The Double Album’ sold 7,000 copies on the same day, giving him a 511 percent increase from the 1,000 copies sold on February 2.
In contrast, the data shows a massive decrease in airplay for Red Light District on radio stations in the US. On February 3, his music was played 71 percent less than in the 24 hours before.
The video that caused Wallen to be dropped was filmed by one of his neighbors and saw the star say to someone, “Watch out for this pussy-ass n *** a.”
“I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racist slur that I wish I could take back,” Wallen said in an apology. “There are never excuses for using this kind of language. I would like to sincerely apologize for using the word. I promise to do better. “
Big Loud, a Republic imprint, said in a statement that they had “indefinitely” suspended the Wallen contract. “Republic Records fully supports Big Loud’s decision and agrees that such behavior will not be tolerated,” they said.
Wallen sparked controversy last year when he was filmed violating coronavirus rules by saying goodbye to fans without wearing a mask. His scheduled performance on Saturday Night Live was pulled at the last minute due to his actions, although he was invited to the show later in the year.