Kenan Thompson is sharing his thoughts on Morgan Wallenโs abrupt exit after performing on โSaturday Night Live.โ
The country singer was the musical guest on the March 29 episode of โSNLโ hosted by Oscar winner Mikey Madison. At the end of the show, when the โAnoraโ star was saying her goodbyes as the credits rolled, Wallen left the stage instead of chatting with the cast and greeting one another, as most other guests do.
Wallen’s actions drew strong reactions from viewers, including Thompson.
โI donโt know what goes through peopleโs minds when they decide to do stuff like that. I donโt know if he understood the assignment or not, or if he was really feeling a certain kind of way,โ Thompson told Entertainment Weekly in a March 31 interview.
The longest-running cast member said that he โdefinitely saw itโ when Wallen abruptly walked off the stage. โYou see somebody before you get a chance to say hi or say good job or anything like that, they just dipping.โ
โI thought maybe he had to go to the potty or something,โ he said. โItโs definitely a spike in the norm. Weโre so used to everybody just turning around and high-fiving us, everybodyโs saying, โGood job, good job, good job.โ So when thereโs a departure from that, itโs like, โHmm, I wonder what thatโs about?โโ
Thompson noted that he โnever metโ the โIโm The Problemโ singer, but said he โseems like a complicated individual, I guess.โ
The comedian also said that Wallen isn’t the only guest to previously leave so suddenly.
โPrinceย did the same thing,โ he said, adding, โIโm not saying Morgan Wallen is Prince, but we werenโt surprised because Prince was notoriously kind of standoffish. Itโs just how he was. So we just thought like, โOK, now heโs gone back into fantasyland.โโ
However, he explained that Wallen’s actions were definitely felt by everyone on stage.
โBut Saturday I guess it was just different because it just felt so abrupt. And it was already such a small grouping on the stage anyway,โ he said. โSo it was just like, oh wow, that was pretty visible. You know what Iโm saying? It was a pretty visible thing.โ
Adding to Wallenโs questionable actions was the artistโs post on his Instagram story. Wallen posted a photo of a private jet on a tarmac with the words, โGet me to Godโs country.โ
On March 20, TODAY.com reached out to Wallenโs reps for comment and clarification on his post but did not hear back.
Thompson, on his end, said that Wallenโs post was โstrangeโ and didnโt understand why he posted it.
โThe โGodโs countryโ of it all is strange because itโs like, what are you trying to say? You trying to say that we are not in Godโs country? Weโre not all in Godโs country? Weโre not all under Godโs umbrella? Thatโs not necessarily my favorite,โ he told EW. โBut whatever. Moving on, we got a new show. We got Jack Black this week … We will be fine.โ
Wallen has yet to address the reaction to the way he made his “SNL” exit. The singer, however, has a history of controversy that also includes the comedy sketch show.
In October 2020, he was cut as the musical guest after breaking COVID-19 protocols and was seen partying without a mask ahead of his scheduled gig. Wallen was able to rebook his spot in a December show and joked about his canceled performance in a sketch.
