The Nashville Council rejects the new sign for Morgan Wallen’sThis Bar & Tennessee Kitchen

US News

By Associated Press

Nashville council members rejected plans to place a glowing sign at Morgan Wallen’s new bar along the city’s neon-lit strip, citing his use of a racial slur that sparked controversy in 2021 and recent criminal charges accusing the country star of throwing darts. A chair on the roof near two police officers.

The Metro Nashville Council voted 30-3 Tuesday evening against the proposed sign at Morgan Wallen’s This Bar & Tennessee Kitchen, which is scheduled to open this weekend.

The sign was supposed to be hung on a public sidewalk, similar to those in many nearby bars. Such a sign requires local government approval and is usually not a controversial process.

During the discussion, council members described Wallen’s hateful comments and actions as harmful. They also said that the performer was given several second chances.

“I don’t want to see a billboard with the name of the person who throws chairs off balconies and utters racial slurs,” said Councilwoman Delicia Porterfield, who is black.

Councilman Jacob Coppin made the motion, but said he “thought long and hard” about what to do because of Wallen’s behavior.

He said the third-party organization that runs 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 for comment on the council’s vote.

“The fact that someone’s name appears on the tape doesn’t mean we condone all the behavior, but again I appreciate the effort to make it right, the positive response, and again, the operator itself I don’t think it should be that way.” “Punishment for what happened,” Cobain said.

The preliminary hearing in Wallen’s criminal case has been postponed until August 15.

According to the arrest affidavit, the chair that Wallen is accused of throwing from the roof of the six-story Chief’s Pub on April 7 landed within yards of two police officers.

Witnesses told officers they saw Whalen pick up a chair, throw it from the roof and laugh at it.

He faces three felony counts of reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.

In a statement issued by Wallen, he said he accepts “responsibility” and is “not proud” of his behavior.

The statement said to make “adjustments” and contact law enforcement.

Wallen’s album “One Thing at a Time” spent 16 weeks atop the Billboard 200 in 2023 and was the most consumed album in the US last year.

Top 10 hits from the album included “Last Night,” “You Proof,” and “Thinkin’ Bout Me.”

In 2021, Wallen was suspended indefinitely from his label after a video surfaced of him shouting racial slurs, which he later said he was ignorant of using.

Kid Rock’s bar, not far from Wallen’s new establishment, has been the site of a previous controversy over signage.

Before the 2019 vote, some council members expressed dissatisfaction with the design, which features a giant guitar, with the base of the instrument shaped like a woman’s buttocks. In the end they agreed to it.