Morgan Wallen abruptly leaves ‘SNL’ stage: ‘Get me to God’s country’

Morgan Wallen has caused quite a stir by making an early exit from “Saturday Night Live.”

In an unusual moment at the end of Saturday’s “SNL” episode hosted by Mikey Madison, the country singer, who served as musical guest, abruptly walked off the stage during the signoff.

The cast and musical guest traditionally stay on stage at the end of “SNL” each week and are seen saying goodbye and hugging one another as the credits roll. On Saturday, though, Wallen left the stage immediately after Madison said goodnight. He could be seen briefly hugging the “Anora” star before walking toward the audience and past the view of the camera.

Madison and the rest of the cast remained on stage for the remainder of the credits. After the episode, Wallen took to his Instagram Stories to post a photo of a plane and wrote, “Get me to God’s country.”

USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Wallen for comment.

Wallen was previously a musical guest on “SNL” in 2020. During that earlier appearance, he remained on stage during the closing credits, hugging and sharing high fives with members of the cast.

The walk-off moment sparked a wave of criticism of the “I’m the Problem” singer, who last year pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless endangerment after throwing a chair off the roof of a bar.

“He’s been there before and knew exactly what he was doing,” one fan wrote on Reddit. “He wanted to show the audience he didn’t care for the cast or doing the show.” In an X post, another viewer suggested Wallen had thrown a “tantrum” and speculated he will “NEVER be on #SNL again.”

Wallen performed “I’m the Problem” and “Just in Case” on Saturday’s “SNL,” which opened with a sketch depicting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accidentally sharing war plans in a group chat with high school girls.

‘SNL’ cold open: Pete Hegseth shares war plans with high school girls

Wallen’s previous musical guest appearance on “SNL” came after he was uninvited from the show earlier in 2020 when videos surfaced that showed him partying without a mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m not positive for COVID,” Wallen said at the time. “But my actions this past weekend were pretty short sighted, and they’ve obviously affected my long term goals and my dreams. I respect the show’s decision, because I know that I put them in jeopardy.”