For the second year running, Entertainer of the Year nominee Morgan Wallen seems to be sitting out the CMA Awards.
The singer was nowhere in sight on the red carpet or in the audience as the 2025 awards show got started. He’s not performing, presenting or attending at all, but he is nominated: He’s up for Album, Male Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year at tonight’s show.
In fact, Wallen already won a CMA trophy. He was the early recipient of the International Artist Achievement Award, according to an announcement from the Country Music Association last week.
Why Isn’t Morgan Wallen at the 2025 CMA Awards?
That’s a good question. Wallen hasn’t made any kind of official statement about why he’s been skipping country music awards shows recently.
Leading up to the awards show, Wallen’s close friend and frequent collaborator Ernest shed some light on why the singer is skipping awards shows.
In conversation with Taste of Country, Ernest named Lainey Wilson as his pick for Entertainer of the Year — and then said Wallen (who’s also nominated in the category) wouldn’t mind him saying that. Ernest’s words were pretty blunt.
“He don’t give a s–t. Since when is Morgan giving a s–t?” Ernest continued.
“Who’s making more money doing this than Morgan Wallen?” he pointed out. “He doesn’t give a f–k about this award. I wouldn’t either if I was Morgan Wallen.”
Read More: Ernest Mic Dropped When We Asked About Morgan Wallen
Wallen himself also left some clues that he was planning to skip the 2025 CMAs, so his absence shouldn’t really be a shock to anyone.
Earlier this month, Wallen was a surprise guest at Ella Langley’s Ryman Auditorium show in downtown Nashville. He cracked a joke about skipping the CMAs, saying it “takes a lot more than an awards show to get me out to Broadway these days.”
Read More: Morgan Wallen + Ella Langley Sing ‘Cover Me Up’ at the Ryman
Why Did Morgan Wallen Skip the CMAs Last Year?
Wallen also missed the 2024 CMA Awards. He didn’t offer any official reason for his absence then, either.
Read More: Where is Morgan Wallen? Not at the 2024 CMA Awards
At the time, the singer was in the midst of a break, both on social media and in-person events. He hadn’t been seen since his tour wrapped a few weeks prior to the awards show.
Does Morgan Wallen Hate the CMA Awards?
Some fans think so, but those theories are shaky at best.
Back in 2024, fans had theories that Wallen skipped the awards show because of a lingering grudge that dates back to 2021. In January of that year, the singer was caught on camera hurling a racist slur while joking with a group of friends, and he was blacklisted from many country music institutions — including the CMAs — for the rest of that year.
But Wallen returned to the CMAs stage after being blacklisted — twice. He performed his single “You Proof” in 2022, and returned in 2023 for two performances.
What If Morgan Wallen Wins An Award at the 2025 CMA Awards?
He won’t be there to collect it, but the trophy will still go to him.
In 2024, Wallen won his first-ever Entertainer of the Year trophy at the CMAs. That’s a milestone win for any country star, but Wallen didn’t offer a “thank you ” speech after the fact.
He didn’t even acknowledge the win until four months later, when he posted a snapshot of his Entertainer of the Year trophy as part of a social media roundup.
30 Best Morgan Wallen Songs Every Fan Should Know by Heart
You’ll find largely singles in this Top 30 countdown of Morgan Wallen’s best songs and biggest hits. But we’ve scattered in a few songs found deep within Wallen’s three albums, If I Know Me and his record-breaking double albums Dangerous and One Thing At a Time.
We’ve even included a few early favorites from his 2025 project, I’m the Problem.
