Posted in: NBC, Opinion, Peacock, TV, TV | Tagged: morgan wallen, opinion, saturday night live, snl

SNL Writer, Morgan Wallen Have Different Ideas About "God's Country"

NBC's SNL writer Josh Patten made it pretty clear that they have a very different definition of "God's country" than Morgan Wallen does.

As we wait to see if there's any fallout from NBC's Saturday Night Live musical guest Morgan Wallen's odd departure during the "goodnights" from last night's Mikey Madison (Anora)-hosted show, veteran SNL writer Josh Patten took to social media to make it clear that they have a different definition of "god's country." Though we go more into detail below, not long after Wallen departed the main stage of Studio 8H from the front – walking directly toward the camera – the country music singer took to Instagram Stories to share a look at the private jet he was getting on after SNL, with the message: "Get me to God's country." Earlier today, Patten offered their own personal take on the sentiment – but this one involved a Krispy Kreme Doughnuts truck.

Here's a look at what Patten had to share earlier today – followed by a rundown of when and how this all started:

SNL & Morgan Wallen: A Brief History

Our really brief history of SNL and Wallen begins about five years ago. During Season 46, Wallen was set to be the musical guest alongside host Bill Burr, but that changed when a TikTok video of the country music artist at a house party minus a mask began circulating on social media, disregarding COVID precautions and regulations. In the video, Wallen was seen doing shots in a crowded party where social distancing and masks were not in play and also seen kissing an unmasked woman. Wallen would go on to apologize for what went down, and SNL EP Lorne Michaels would invite Wallen back as the musical guest later that same season during the December 5, 2020, show hosted by Jason Bateman.

Now, we're jumping to this weekend. Musically, Wallen offered strong performances of "I'm the Problem" and "Just in Case" – and overall, everything seemed pretty normal. But things got weird during the goodnight just before and while the credits were rolling. First, there was distance between Madison and Wallen and the rest of the cast. Then, you had Wallen say a few words to Madison – without ever turning his attention to the SNL cast behind him. But the real headline-grabber was how Wallen exited – from the front of the stage and walking towards the camera. It was an odd way for something as simple as a "goodnight" to go down, vibing as if Wallen either suddenly got lost or was looking to get away from SNL sooner rather than later.

Did Wallen have issues with the SNL cast and writers? Were there some other issues at play? TMZ – and other sites – reported that folks close to Wallen said it was all much ado about nothing. Not helping their argument was Wallen's Instagram Stories post shortly after he exited stage right: "Get me to God's country," along with an image of a private jet.

So we decided to jump on Peacock and take a look back at December 2020 to see if Wallen's behavior during the goodnight and end credits was similar to what went down last night. It wasn't. After friendly greetings between Wallen and Bateman, you see Wallen turning his attention to the SNL cast – and the SNL cast reciprocates. In fact, it's your typically nice end that we usually get, with Wallen sticking around on the stage as the network cut to whatever local affiliates were running at 1 pm ET. To be clear, there was no sign indicating that Wallen exited by walking down off the front of the stage.

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