Morgan Wallen Celebrates His Son Indigo’s First Birthday at Party With Family

Morgan Wallen’s N-Word Fallout

Months before his racial slur controversy, for which he apologized, Morgan Wallen became a dad. And now, amid the fallout from the scandal, he is celebrating his son Indigo “Indie” Wilder‘s first birthday.

On Sunday, July 11, the 28-year-old country star shared on Instagram photos from the boy’s rodeo-themed party, including a photo of himself holding the child. “1 year of being a legend,” Morgan wrote. “Happy birthday, son.”

The musician also posted a pic showing Indie sitting at a table decorated with red, white and blue bandanas and a burlap flag reading, “My First Rodeo,” and crying as his mother, Katie Smith, wipes cake from his face.

Katie also shared photos from the party. Indie wore a red bandana as a top and blue jeans, twinning with his mom who wore her bandana over a white tank. In one of the pics, both she and Morgan, dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans, swing the boy up in celebration.

In another photo, Morgan carries the child on his shoulders while crouching in front of Katie and family members. Katie and the singer’s mothers and his sisters all attended the bash.

Morgan announced the arrival of his son on Instagram on July 13, 2020, three days after Katie gave birth, writing alongside a photo of himself holding the newborn, “Little Wilder, I’m a changed man. Since you came into the world Friday, I see mine differently now. It’s not just me anymore, and I’m glad it’s not.”

This past February a video was leaked showing him saying the N-word and other expletives as he returned from a night out with friends in Nashville. In a statement to E! News, he later said, “I’m embarrassed and sorry. I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back. There are no excuses to use this type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologize for using the word. I promise to do better.”

The controversy did affect Morgan’s career, although many of his fans continued to support him and his music has continued to rank high on country music charts. But CMT and iHeartMedia then removed his appearances from their platforms, while Spotify and Apple Music dropped his songs from their curated playlists, booking agency WME removed him from their roster and Big Loud Records suspended his recording contract indefinitely.

In addition, the Academy of Country Music deemed him ineligible to be nominated for its honors. This past May, he won three 2021 Billboard Music Awards, although he was banned from appearing on the show.

Instagram / Morgan Wallen

In February 2020, five months before Morgan became a dad, a video was leaked showing him saying the N-word and other expletives as he returned from a night out with friends in Nashville. In a statement to E! News, he later said, “I’m embarrassed and sorry. I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back. There are no excuses to use this type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologize for using the word. I promise to do better.”

The controversy did affect Morgan’s career, although many of his fans continued to support him and his music has continued to rank high on country music charts. But CMT and iHeartMedia then removed his appearances from their platforms, while Spotify and Apple Music dropped his songs from their curated playlists, booking agency WME removed him from their roster and Big Loud Records suspended his recording contract indefinitely.

In addition, the Academy of Country Music deemed him ineligible to be nominated for its honors. This past May, he won three 2021 Billboard Music Awards, although he was banned from appearing on the show.

In April, Morgan wrote on Instagram, “2020…Man, what a tough year for so many. For me, my tough year carried into 2021. I’ve made some mistakes, I’m figuring those out, + I apologized because I was truly sorry + have been making my amends.”

He later canceled a planned tour. He has, however, been working on new music.

In June, Variety reported that Morgan’s songs recently returned to playlists at most country stations. Later that month, he performed at the Brett Boyer Foundation Invitational charity event’s after-party in Georgia, marking his second performance since the controversy, Billboard said. 

Also in June, Morgan he shared another pic of himself with Indie, writing, “1 more day to be my little kids dad…lord knows I’m a lucky man.”

“You got your whole life to be little mans dad,” wrote fellow country star Jake Owen. “Every day gets better my friend.”

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