A request to put up a sign for Morgan Wallen’s future bar was rejected by Nashville Metro Council members, who cited his recent controversies as the reason.
4th Avenue Property LLC, which is developing Morgan Wallen’s This Bar and Tennessee Kitchen, has applied for a permit to build an “air intake” at the 107 4th Ave North site. However, 30 Metro Nashville council members voted “no” during a meeting on Tuesday, May 21, according to WSMV, Tennessean and the Associated Press.
Councilwoman Delishia Porterfield mentioned Wallen’s past behavior as she explained her decision.
“We want to make sure that Nashville is a supportive place for everyone, so I don’t want to see a billboard with the name of a person who throws chairs off a balcony and says racial slurs, using the n-word, so I’m voting no,” she said.
Morgan Wallen’s felony chair-throwing charges are moving forward as a Nashville judge sets a new hearing date
Last month, Wallen was arrested on felony charges last month after allegedly throwing a chair from a local rooftop bar. In 2021, Wallen faced backlash after a video surfaced of him uttering the N-word.
Porterfield also shared news of the Metro Council’s decision via X (formerly Twitter) shortly after the vote, posting a photo of the vote’s results. Three council members voted for the sign, and four abstained.
“Try it in a small town…. 🤷🏽♀️ better yet….don’t try everything,” Porterfield joked, referencing Jason Aldean’s controversial single “Try That in a Small Town.”
The Ups and Downs of Morgan Wallen: From ‘The Voice’ and Losing Records to Racial Controversy and Criminal Charges
Council member Jordan Huffman echoed Porterfield’s concerns, saying, “I stand up to oppose this.”
“Number 1 — Mr. Wallen is from East Tennessee — he gives us all a bad name,” Huffman said. “His comments are hateful, his comments are hurtful, and you don’t belong in this city, as far as I’m concerned. I’m tired of this city bending over backwards to make anyone who makes a comment happy. We continue to go down that road. I encourage my colleagues to vote against this.”
Council member Jacob Kupin, who made the decision to the council, approved the sign, although he admitted he was conflicted.
“It occurred to me that we put up a sign with someone’s name on it who wasn’t a good actor downtown,” he said. “I decided to approve this because I support the effort to move this bar forward … the restaurant group that operates this facility, TC Restaurant Group, has been a really good partner in everything that’s going on downtown.”
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By Nashville law, “Any aerial, subway, or building (including canopies, signs, canopies, fiber optic cables, etc.) that encroaches on the metro right-of-way (ROW)” must be approved by the metro city council, according to WSMV.
PEOPLE has reached out to TC Restaurant Group and representatives of Wallen for comment.
Wallen was arrested on three felony charges on April 7 in Nashville after he allegedly threw a chair off the roof of a bar. A few days after his arrest, Wallen took “responsibility” for his actions in a statement released by X. The next trial in the case is scheduled for August 15.
Morgan Wallen’s This Bar and Tennessee Kitchen open Memorial Day weekend.
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Source: HIS Education