Country singer Morgan Wallen made his Saturday Night Live debut... and it made people want to bring out their whiskey glasses.
As fans of the 27-year-old star know, his SNL appearance on Saturday, Dec. 5 was a big deal. Almost two months ago, Morgan was actually scheduled as the musical guest for the Oct. 10th episode. However, he was booted from the long-running comedy show after breaking coronavirus protocols put in place by the series.
Ahead of his original SNL performance, the country musician made headlines after he was seen partying maskless with fans at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. And because we live in the age of social media, party-goers posted pictures and videos of Morgan at the football festivity. In videos shared on TikTok and Twitter, the "Whiskey Glasses" singer was seen taking shots and kissing multiple women.
So when Morgan made his SNL debut as the musical guest this weekend, fans were surprised to see him perform in one of the sketches... about his COVID-19 controversy.
Yes, you read that correctly. The "Chasin' You" singer poked fun at his partying ways amid the pandemic and even parodied himself with the help of host Jason Bateman.
In the sketch, the Tennessee native is enjoying a beer and hanging out at an Alabama bar. Soon after, he is met by two future versions of himself—portrayed by Jason and Bowen Yang.
The two future Morgan's warn him about how his decisions at the bar will impact him. "I am you from the future and I came back here to stop you from partying tonight," Jason tells Morgan. "Someone's gonna post a video of you ignoring Covid protocols, and the whole internet is gonna freak out."
"Once people hear about the party, you're in big trouble man," Jason adds. "You're going to get kicked off Saturday Night Live."
Despite the warning, the country singer seems skeptical and responds, "Nah, nah, nah. Lorne [Michaels] would never do that."
"The execs at NBC," Jason replies, "they're going to force his hand, bro."
After some convincing, Morgan sings a new tune called "Focus on the Future." He belts, "So let's all raise a glass up, and I'll thank you in advance, for giving this poor Southern boy a second Yankee chance."
While Morgan is able to laugh at his past mistakes, he did apologize to the comedy show for his actions in October.
"I'd like to apologize to SNL, to my fans, to my team, for bringing me these opportunities. I let them down," he shared at the time on Instagram Stories. "I wish I could've made country music and my fans proud but I respect the decision once again."
"On a more personal note, I think I have some growing up to do. I think I've lost myself a little bit," he continued. "I've tried to find joy in the wrong places. I don't know. It's left me with less joy, so I'm going to go try to work on that. I'm going to take a step back from the spotlight for a little while and go work on myself."
At the time, Morgan revealed that Lorne reached out to him and said he could "find another time to make this up." From last night's unforgettable performances, it's clear he did just that.
Watch the sketch above!
(E! and NBC are both members of the NBCUniversal family.)