Morgan Wallen Smiles in Mugshot After Nashville Arrest

Morgan Wallen's mugshot showed him smiling after he was arrested for allegedly throwing a chair off a six-story balcony.

The Context

Police in Nashville arrested the country music star after the chair landed just feet from where officers were standing outside a bar owned by Eric Church on Sunday night.

What We Know

Wallen, 30, is one of the most popular musicians in the U.S. at the moment and despite his many controversies, continues to top charts and win awards. His hit "Last Night" was ranked number one on Billboard's singles chart for 2023.

Two Metro Nashville police officers were standing outside the Chief's Bar on Broadway in Nashville when a chair crashed to the ground near them.

According to the arrest report, the Tennessee native was allegedly "lunging and throwing an object over the roof," and some witnesses told News Channel 5 that he was seen laughing after throwing it and had thrown other objects off the balcony.

Wallen was arrested and charged with three felony counts of reckless endangerment and one count of misdemeanor disorderly and his bond was set to $15,250, according to Metro Nashville Police Department.

The police department also released Wallen's mugshot after his arrest which showed the singer smiling.

Views

Just hours after his arrest, Wallen posted bond and was photographed being escorted into a waiting SUV outside the Downtown Detention center shortly before 4 a.m. Local reporter Peyton Kennedy posted video of his exit from jail to her social media accounts.

"At 10:53 p.m. Sunday evening Morgan Wallen was arrested in downtown Nashville for reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. He is cooperating fully with authorities," Wallen's lawyer, Worrick Robinson, confirmed in a statement to media.

What's Next

Wallen will face court in Nashville on May 3, per the Davidson County Criminal Court. He will already be in the city at that time for his tour, with concert dates on May 2 and 3.

The singer rose to fame as a contestant on reality singing competition The Voice in 2014. While he did not make it very far in the competition, he was signed to Big Loud records the following year.

His career steadily rose from there and quickly broke out of the country music world to become known in the mainstream.

But he is no stranger to controversies and run-ins with the law.

In May 2020, he was arrested for public intoxication and disorderly behavior at Kid Rock's Nashville club in May 2020. Then he was removed as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live when it was revealed he had broken the show's COVID-19 safety protocols.

Videos appeared on social media showing Wallen kissing women at a bar in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, despite social distancing guidelines being in place. He apologized for the misstep and was welcomed back to the NBC comedy sketch show two months later.

But in 2021, Wallen was temporarily banned from radio and even suspended from his own record label when a video emerged of him using a racial slur against Black people.

TMZ released video footage of a drunk Wallen using the slur while walking into his house after a night out in February 2021. Wallen did apologize but he faced immediate consequences, including having his songs removed from radio, fired by his booking agency, and disqualified from various awards.

Wallen met with several Black leaders in an effort to educate himself and did a 30-day stint in rehab in San Diego following the incident.

Update 04/08/24, 10:08 a.m. ET. This article was updated with additional information.