If Kenan Thompson has any scuttlebutt on Morgan Wallen‘s walkoff during Saturday Night Live‘s goodnights this weekend, he isn’t sharing it.
Appearing Monday morning on Good Day New York, Thompson was asked about the much-talked about moment, joking at first that he hadn’t heard about it. “What happened? Did something happen?”
Shown video of Wallen’s walk-off and a much-circulated screenshot of him and Ego Nwodim apparently reacting to it, Thompson offered “I mean, it’s… I don’t know if he understood the assignment.”
Asked if he could share the backstory, Thompson responded, “I have no idea, I mean… I’ve been reading [about it] as much as you. So apparently he didn’t know to stay or something like that? But you know, whatever. Doesn’t matter. It was a great show. Mikey did great. She’s having such an incredible run with her career right now, so celebrate that, I guess?”
As we’ve reported, Wallen choosing to forgo the show’s traditional onstage mix and mingle and walking off stage shortly after host Mikey Madison said her goodnights Saturday night seemed designed to send a message. And just in case we missed it, he posted a photo to Instagram shortly afterwards, indicating that he’d skipped the show’s traditional after-party and instead flown home, captioning a photo of a private jet with the words “Get me to God’s country.”
In an apparent response to Wallen’s post this morning on Good Day New York, Thompson asked “Aren’t we all in God’s country?”
Sources in Wallen’s camp deny he meant any ill will, while rumors fly about the country star throwing on set “tantrums.”
One unsubstantiated rumor has it that Wallen was originally intended to perform the part in the “Big Dumb Line” pretape that ultimately went to Joe Jonas, while people claiming to have been in the audience Saturday night say that SNL creator Lorne Michaels was seen snubbing Wallen ahead of goodnights, hugging Mikey Madison as she made her way to the stage and then purposely turning his back on Wallen.
For those not following along, this weekend wasn’t the first time Wallen has stirred controversy at SNL. His first appearance on the show in October 2020 was cancelled after he was spotted flauting the show’s then-strict COVID protocols. (He apologized and returned two months later without incident.)
