Live from New York, it’s Morgan W-…
Country star Morgan Wallen shocked many SNL fans when after appearing on the March 30 episode as the musical guest, he walked off the stage prematurely while the end credits were still rolling—a rare move in the show’s 50-season-long history.
E! News has reached out to the “I’m the Problem” singer for comment and has not heard back.
Wallen exited the stage after embracing celebrity guest host Mikey Madison—who won her first Oscar earlier this month for her leading performance in Anora—and just six seconds after the end credits began rolling.
“Wow, Morgan Wallen just walking off the stage during the @nbcsnl credits?” one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “In decades of watching SNL, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that.”
Not long after exiting the stage, Wallen shared a photo of what appeared to be a private jet on a runway, with the words, “Get me to God’s country.”
While the “Just in Case” singer, who lives in Tennessee, has not commented on his controversial SNL departure, a source close to him told TMZ that he meant nothing by it, and had routinely exited the studio the same way he had during rehearsal when he thought it was time to go.
This is not the first time Wallen has stirred controversy with regard to the NBC sketch series.
In October 2020, his scheduled appearance as a musical guest, which was to become his SNL debut, was canceled after TikTok videos showed him partying without wearing a mask and kissing women at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, which prompted many social media users to criticize him for not social distancing amid the COVID pandemic.
Wallen later apologized. “I’m not positive for COVID,” he said in an Instagram video at the time. “But my actions this past weekend were pretty short sighted, and they’ve obviously affected my long term goals and my dreams. I respect the show’s decision, because I know that I put them in jeopardy.”
Two months later, Morgan made his SNL debut after all. During the episode, he poked fun at the controversy in a sketch.
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Look back at SNL‘s most memorable celebrity hosts…
Kim Kardashian
The Kardashians star poked fun at her relationship with ex Kanye West, her connection to O.J. Simpson and her sister Kourtney Kardashian‘s PDA-heavy romance with now-husband Travis Barker. But she really took flight in an Aladdin-themed sketch that saw her kiss cast member Pete Davidson. The pair would go on to date for nine months.
Tom Hanks
With 10 hosting gigs under his belt—including the show’s first remotely-filmed episode back in April 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic—you know that when America’s Dad is in Studio 8H, you’re in for a wonderful time. Don’t believe us? We have just three words for you: David. S. Pumpkins.
Jon Hamm
Hamm left audiences stunned with his considerable comedic chops when he hosted for the first time in 2008. He’s has sinced followed up two more times and has had a handful of surprise cameos.
From his unforgettable “Jon Hamm’s John Ham” sketch—you know, lunch meat you eat on the toilet—to his live-action Ace in an adaptation of the iconic Ambiguously Gay Duo animated sketch, he’s ingratiated himself with cast in a way few other hosts ever have.
Melissa McCarthy
There is arguably no one on this planet more committed to their craft than the Bridesmaids legend. Case in point? The “Taste Test” sketch in her first at bat as host, back in 2011, when she covered herself in Hidden Valley ranch dressing for a gag.
In less than a decade, she’s already joined the infamous Five-Timers Club, and even began making semi-regular appearances a particularly enraged Sean Spicer during his brief tenure in the Trump administration.
Justin Timberlake
Nearly every celeb on this list could’ve become a full-time cast member on SNL, easily. And for a time there, it seemed like JT actually might. From “Omletteville,” “D–k in a Box,” and “Barry Gibb Talk Show” to “Mother Lover,” each of Timberlake’s five appearances as host made moments that permeated pop culture. And his appearance as one of Beyonce‘s “Single Ladies” back-up dancers alongside Bobby Moynihan and Andy Samberg? Amazing.
Steve Martin
There are few people who have hosted SNL more than the legendary comedian—in fact, there’s only one—and in his 16 stints in Studio 8H between 1976 and 2009, he created memorable characters (the “wild and crazy” Festrunk Brothers, King Tut) and delivered what would become one of the show’s most heartfelt moments, honoring Gilda Radner‘s passing from cancer with a look back at a blissful dance the two shared through the studio.
Scarlett Johansson
Not only is ScarJo part of the SNL family thanks to her romance with Colin Jost, but the six-time host has created some indelible moments over the years since her debut in 2006.
She’s been on hand for whenever the show needed someone to step into Ivanka Trump‘s shoes, appeared in the grotesque Shud the Mermaid sketch opposite Kate McKinnon and played Lexi (daughter to Fred Armisen‘s Mark) as the duo hawk chandeliers, ceramic busts, marble columns and porcelain fountains in the fan-favorite sketch.
Betty White
Unlike everyone else on this list (save for Kim Kardashian), the late TV icon only hosted SNL once. And, at 88 years old, she became the show’s oldest host in its history. The appearance was made even more special because it was literally fan-demanded through a successful Facebook campaign after White’s role in The Proposal.
She’s also on this list because, well, she was freaking hilarious. Our favorite sketch from the episode is this absurd one where Tina Fey‘s census taker tries, in vain, to get a straight answer out of White.
Dwayne Johnson
A member of the Five Timer’s Club, Johnson earned his spot on this list the minute he agreed to do The Rock Obama. Enough said.
Alec Baldwin
With 17 official hosting gigs on his resume and countless appearances as former President Donald Trump, Baldwin may be the only star not officially on the payroll who is more closely associated with SNL.
From classics like Canteen Boy and Schweddy Balls to impressions of Tony Bennett and, yes, Trump, Baldwin has given fans so much during his many, many visits to Studio 8H.
