Kenan Thompson Questions the Impact of Morgan Wallen’s “SNL” Performance: “What Are You Really Trying to Convey?”

Kenan Thompson’s Reaction to Morgan Wallen’s Exit

Kenan Thompson commented on a sharp Morgan Wallen Saturday Night Live (SNL) exit.

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Last Saturday (March 29), country singer Wallen appeared as a musical guest on the show and made headlines when he abruptly reduced his farewell, then bid goodbye to the invited actress who received an Oscar, Mikey Madison. Typically, SNL actors celebrate with a musical guest, receiving credits during the roll.

Thompson Weighs In on Wallen’s Sudden Departure

Soon after his departure, Wallen, based in Nashville, Tennessee, published Instagram Stories with images of his private aircraft and a message that read “get me into the country of God.”

Now, long-standing cast member Kenan Thompson has commented on Wallen’s abrupt exit in a statement to Entertainment Weekly, saying, “I don’t know what is happening in the minds of people when they decide to do such things. I don’t know if he understood the task or not, or if he really felt a certain way.” He joked that “maybe he thought he had to go to the restroom or something.”

Thompson confirmed that he “definitely saw” Wallen leave suddenly, adding: “This is definitely a break from the norm. We are so accustomed to everyone just showing up, and everyone says, ‘Good work, good work, good work.’ So when someone leaves, it’s like, hmm, I wonder what that’s about?”

Wallen appeared in two episodes: last Saturday and his first musical guest performance in 2020 (which occurred after Wallen broke COVID-19 protocols, leading to the cancellation of his original debut appearance). Thompson stated that he “never met” Wallen during any episode but added that he “seems to be a complex person.”

Thompson also pointed out that Wallen is not the first musical guest to leave early, mentioning that Prince also had a similar incident. “I’m not saying that Morgan Wallen is a Prince, but we weren’t surprised, as you know, Prince was kind of controversial,” said Thompson. “That was just how it was. So, we just thought, ‘Well, now he’s gone back to some fantastic country.’”

He continued: “But on Saturday, I think everything was different because it was just so abrupt. And there were such few people on stage.”

Then Thompson addressed Wallen’s Instagram post, questioning the phrase “country of God”: “That’s strange, because what are you really trying to say? Are you suggesting that we’re not in the country of God? Moving forward, we have a new show this week featuring Jack Black. We’ll be just fine.”

The audience speculated that Wallen’s exit might have been an approach to the cast. One social media user noted that Wallen stood at an unusually large distance from Madison, adding, “Am I missing something? The actor seems to be quite far from the host and the musical guest. This all seems strange.”

“Damn it, you can tell by the atmosphere: ‘It was one of the bad ones.’ Another user wrote on the field.

Meanwhile, a Diversity report argued that sources close to Wallen stated that the singer had a good time on the show and that his exit and Instagram post did not imply any ill will toward the cast.

Thank you, Mikey Madison and @MorganWallen! Good night! pic.twitter.com/fdlinhhqb

– Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) March 30, 2025

Since January, Wallen has been teasing and releasing tracks from his upcoming album, I’M The Schold, which is set to release on May 16. The title references some of the public scandals he has faced in recent years.

Last April, it was reported that the singer faced three charges of reckless threats and one charge of vandalism after he threw a chair from a rooftop bar in Tennessee. In December, he was found guilty of two misdemeanors for reckless threats without a weapon and was sentenced to a week at a DUI education center, along with two years of probation.

In 2021, a video surfaced of him using racial slurs, leading to him being dropped by several radio stations and his label, Big Loud. Despite this, sales of his album “Dangerous” surged, and Wallen held the number one spot on the Billboard 200 albums for a record ten weeks. Wallen expressed that he was “embarrassed and regretted” his actions, asking fans not to defend him.

In other news, in October, the musician donated $500,000 to the American Red Cross to support relief efforts for Hurricane Helen.