Morgan Wallen sets negative headlines ablaze during 'I'm the Problem' tour opener
Morgan Wallen marked the opening night of his "I'm The Problem" Tour with a fiery performance at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, including what seemed to be his reaction to recent news headlines.
According to multiple videos from fans in attendance at the June 20 concert, Wallen displayed a montage of negative headlines − including one that read "Morgan Wallen breaks COVID mask protocols" − during his performance of "I'm the Problem." After the song's performance, Wallen appeared to pour gasoline on the stage and then picked up a lighter, cueing a pyrotechnic show.
"You say I'll never change, I'm just a go around town with some gasoline," Wallen sings during the opening lyrics of the song. "Just tryin' to bum a flame, gonna burn the whole place down."
Wallen posted an Instagram video walking out before the concert with retired NFL legend Andre Johnson of the Houston Texans. USA TODAY reached out to reps for Wallen and NRG Stadium for comment.
"Morgan Wallen burns the place down while bringing the receipts," wrote one X user. Another user on TikTok wrote, "Morgan Wallen claps back at all the negative headlines and sets the stage on 'fire.'"
Wallen has spent his fair share of time in the headlines. Earlier this year, he caused quite a stir by making an early exit from "Saturday Night Live" during a March episode of the NBC sketch series.
In an unusual moment, he hugged Oscar-winning host Mikey Madison during the signoff before walking off stage and then taking to his Instagram stories to post a photo of a plane and wrote, "Get me to God's country."
Morgan Wallen teases new album 'I'm The Problem' and announces 2025 tour
The walk-off moment sparked a wave of criticism for the "Just In Case" hitmaker, who pleaded guilty last year to misdemeanor reckless endangerment after throwing a chair off the roof of a bar. In 2020, Wallen was uninvited from "SNL" after videos surfaced that showed him partying without a mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The next year, he shocked the music industry when he was captured on tape in a TMZ video using a derogatory racial slur commonly used to describe Black people.
The "Kick Myself" singer will also perform Saturday, June 21.
Wallen's tour is named after his fourth studio album, in its fourth week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 top albums chart. His previous album, "One Thing at a Time," spent 19 weeks at No. 1 — the most weeks any country album has ever logged at No. 1.
"One Thing" followed "Dangerous," which spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on its way to becoming Billboard's most successful album of the century so far.
Contributing: Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY; Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Morgan Wallen sets 'I'm the Problem' tour on fire, addresses backlash
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