Morgan Wallen Sheds Light on Leaving ‘SNL’ Stage Abruptly: ‘I Was Just Ready to Go Home'

Morgan Wallen has finally addressed his sudden exit from the Saturday Night Live stage when he was the musical guest alongside host Mikey Madison.

During an interview with Caleb Pressley for his Sundae Conversation series, the country music star was asked about the incident, which prompted speculation about Wallen's feelings regarding the cast and crew of the sketch comedy show. "Seriously, SNL, did they make you mad?" Pressley asked. "No, no, I was just ready to go home," he replied. "I been there all week."

Wallen joined Madison on stage for the end-of-night thank yous to the audience, cast, and crew, an SNL tradition in which the cast and guests talk and often hug. He shared a brief hug with the Anora star, but instead of chatting with the cast, Wallen walked straight off the stage toward the camera. On his Instagram Stories, he shared a picture from his private jet with the caption, "Get me to God's country."

The moment sparked speculation surrounding the reason for his exit, and prompted a response from longtime cast member Kenan Thompson. "I don't know if he understood the assignment or not, or if he was really feeling a certain kind of way," Thompson said. "I thought maybe he had to go to the potty or something. It's definitely a spike in the norm. We're so used to everybody just turning around and high-fiving us, everybody's saying, 'Good job, good job, good job.' So when there's a departure from that, it's like, hmm, 'I wonder what that's about?'"

It was later reported that Wallen allegedly refused to do a pre-taped sketch for the show, and Joe Jonas was brought in as a replacement. The cast appeared to take the moment in stride, though, joking about it twice in the episode that followed.