Morgan Wallen Dropped By Record Label After Video Shows Him Using Racial Slur — Meet His Ex, Katie Smith
Over 400 radio stations have pulled his music from their playlists.
Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock Morgan Wallen’s career seems to be crashing as quickly as it took off after footage emerged this week of the popular musician using a racial slur.
News outlets obtained footage of Wallen returning home from a night out on January 31, 2021. He's clearly intoxicated, and says the n-word, among other obscenities.
The country star’s music has since been removed from over 400 radio stations, as Cumulus Media reacted to the offensive event. He's also been indefinitely dropped from his record label.
This is not Wallen’s first controversy, as he has previously been criticized for breaking COVID-19 protocol and was even arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct.
Besides a dirty mouth and a drinking problem, the famed performer also has a son. Indigo “Indie” Wilder was born on July 10, 2020, to Wallen and his former girlfriend, Katie Smith.
Who is Morgan Wallen's baby mama, Katie Smith?
Although their relationship was tempestuous, and apparently ended badly, Wallen and Smith are attempting to get along for their son’s sake.
Read on for the details about their relationship.
She’s an influencer.
Katie’s Instagram account boasts 164,000 followers, and she has made several sponsored posts.
The young mother mainly posts photos of herself and her infant son.
Smith also shares her thoughts and stories on her blog, titled “Thot Thoughts.”
Indie has an Instagram account, too.
The account @a_wilderwallen, run by Katie, has amassed almost 22,000 followers. Its feed includes close-up photos of the infant and cute captions written in his voice.
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They were together before the fame.
According to social media posts, Morgan and Katie probably got together around 2017, prior to the musician’s sharp rise in popularity.
Katie has told followers that she doesn’t think of her ex-boyfriend as a celebrity, explaining, “we dated before that even happened.”
The couple kept things pretty private but attended the 2017 CMT music awards together. They were also engaged for a period of time.
She’s staying single.
Katie announced in an Instagram post last July that she was “not dating anyone” and was “not going to.”
On the benefits of being single, Smith has said that “Focusing on yourself does wonders for your happiness. Focusing on God does even more glorious things for you. Being in the wrong relationship can completely demolish you– and then you have to take the time to rebuild yourself back up.”
She’s Christian.
Katie’s faith means a lot to her, as evidenced by many of her social media and blog posts.
The influencer has revealed that she chose to get baptized in 3rd grade and that she attends the interdenominational Nashville megachurch Cross Point. She also professed her appreciation for prayer and worship music.
Smith has shared that her religious beliefs have helped her through many tough times.
Katie and Morgan’s relationship was pretty rocky.
Smith warns fans not to date musicians in one of her blog posts, citing a turbulent on-and-off relationship with an unnamed musician who is thought to be Wallen.
According to the post, the relationship went south quickly, as Katie wrote that she “can’t give too much insight on the good, other than the beginning.”
The young mother also talks about going on the road with the anonymous ex, and she implies that he cheated while maintaining that she remained faithful.
In another post, Smith revealed more details on the doomed relationship. She still did not mention the country star by name, but based on its timeline and reference to Smith’s pregnancy, the article likely refers to Wallen.
The new mother wrote that her love for the man “was not reciprocated” and the relationship “had 1000 red flags.”
According to Wallen, baby Indie was conceived after the couple had broken up.
The former couple is co-parenting.
Both Smith and Wallen currently live in Nashville.
Katie is originally from Florida but has lived in Tennessee’s capital city for over four years. According to her Facebook page, she also graduated high school in 2013, making her around the same age as Wallen.
In an Instagram post welcoming Indie to the world, Morgan promised his newborn son that he would “be the Dad you deserve as well as the co-parent your mother deserves.”
The singer told interviewers last month that he and Smith had encountered “some difficulties,” but are both dedicated to their son.
“The most important thing is just he's in our life now,” Wallan said. “He's happy. He's healthy. He's incredible.”
Katie gets real about motherhood on social media.
In her blog, Katie has opened up about the struggles of being a single mom.
She wrote in one post the hardest part for her is having to leave her son at home in order to provide for him.
Smith went on to say that some factors helping her juggle the trials of single motherhood are her family and friends, her faith, and her appreciation for the time she spends with her son.
She’s a role model for new and expecting mothers.
Smith revealed details of her birth process in one of her blog posts in an attempt to help others prepare for the challenge.
She included advice that moms-to-be suck on hard candy in order to distract from labor pains, and that they take some alone time with their new babies after giving birth to avoid pressure and strain.
Smith also provided detailed guides on what to bring to the hospital and which products to buy afterward, which she supported with personal anecdotes.
Of motherhood, Smith wrote in her final paragraph, “There is no love like it.”
Allie McGlone is a writer who covers a variety of topics for YourTango, including pop culture and entertainment.