At the end of every “Saturday Night Live” episode, the host, the musical guest and cast members assemble onstage to say goodbye to the audience and viewers at home. While the music plays and the credits roll, they make small talk, shake hands and say their farewells.
There’s not much to think about.
Usually.
Social media has been abuzz since Morgan Wallen, the pop-country superstar who was the musical guest on Saturday, walked offstage while the end credits rolled, leaving behind the host, Mikey Madison, and the rest of the “S.N.L.” cast. It is not clear whether his sudden exit was an intentional message.
Here is what we do know.
What happened?
After Madison made her closing remarks, she turned to Wallen and hugged him. They shared a few words off mic before he walked offstage into the audience past the camera. Shortly after the show ended, Wallen posted a picture to his Instagram stories of a jet with the caption, “Get me to God’s country.”
It was unclear what Wallen, who in recent years was rebuked by music industry’s gatekeepers after a video surfaced of him using a racial slur, meant by the statement or why he left the stage.
Representatives for Wallen, who performed two songs from his upcoming album “I’m the Problem,” and “S.N.L.” did not immediately return requests for comment on Monday. (Variety cited anonymous sources to say that the exit was an “oops” moment and that it was the route Wallen had used all week.)
Why did the moment become such a hot topic?
While “Saturday Night Live” is often the subject of scrutiny and social media chatter, the attention has been even more intense since its 50th season began in September, weeks before the presidential election. Wallen is also a central figure in popular culture, a powerhouse on the music charts despite his controversies (he pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment last year after throwing a chair from the roof of a Nashville bar).
Strong reactions to a musician from a genre that leans politically conservative is only the latest “S.N.L.” moment to provoke conversation online.
Bill Burr’s post-election monologue upset many when he mocked cancel culture and joked about how female candidates should dress more provocatively. Tom Hanks drew ire when he appeared as a MAGA supporter who was uncomfortable shaking a Black man’s hand in a sketch called “Black Jeopardy.” Shane Gillis drew sharp criticism this month when he hosted the show five years after being fired for using slurs on old podcast appearances.
Did Wallen break protocol?
It depends on who you ask. Dustin Kidd, a professor of sociology at Temple University and an expert in popular media, said in a statement on Monday that it was customary for the musical guest to remain onstage as the closing music plays.
“Most people grow up watching ‘S.N.L.’ and would know that, and certainly someone planning to perform would know that,” he said. “The show would have been carefully blocked in advance.”
Kidd added that Wallen’s Instagram story after the show seemed to indicate that he also skipped the customary after-party.
James Andrew Miller, the co-author of “Live From New York,” an oral history of “Saturday Night Live,” said in an interview that Wallen’s exit was a “tad askew” and an “outlier.”
“I think that for 50 years, most of the time the goodbyes go without incident or without any kind of exceptional behavior on anyone’s part,” he said. “When something does go awry, I think it just attracts an inordinate amount of attention.”
What is Wallen’s history with ‘S.N.L.’?
Wallen was first scheduled to perform in October 2020 but was not allowed to because he violated coronavirus protocols. Videos on social media had shown him drinking shots, kissing fans and mingling in groups after a college football game while not wearing a mask or following other social-distancing guidelines.
What have ‘S.N.L.’ cast members said?
Kenan Thompson told Entertainment Weekly on Monday that Wallen’s abrupt exit was not the norm.
“I don’t know what goes through people’s minds when they decide to do stuff like that,” he said. “I don’t know if he understood the assignment or not, or if he was really feeling a certain kind of way.”
“The ‘God’s country’ of it all is strange because it’s like, what are you trying to say?” Thompson added. “You trying to say that we are not in God’s country? We’re not all in God’s country? We’re not all under God’s umbrella? That’s not necessarily my favorite.”
