Eric Church 'heartbroken' over Morgan Wallen's racial slur controversy

Singer-songwriter Eric Church is disappointed with country music star Morgan Wallen's use of a racial slur earlier this year. The 43-year-old singer weighed in on the controversy, stating he was "heartbroken."

As per E! News, Church spoke to Billboard for its latest cover story, and said he found Wallen's actions caught on tape by his Nashville neighbours as "indefensible."

He added, "I was heartbroken when it happened. I think Morgan's trying to work on that and on himself. And I hope he does."

He went on to reveal that amid the backlash that Wallen received, he sent him a note, telling Morgan that he was praying for him and urging him to keep "hanging in there." At the time, Wallen apologised for his behaviour as he was invited by the NAACP to learn about the origins of the N-word and its "hurtful" implications.

Immediately after news of Wallen's use of the racial slur broke, the Academy of Country Music announced that he would not be eligible for awards. His label, Big Loud Records, also issued a statement, saying they "made the decision to suspend Morgan Wallen's recording contract indefinitely."

Two weeks after the video surfaced, Vince Gill spoke out against Wallen's statements during an appearance on CBS This Morning, saying, "It was just sad and disappointing because I knew that everyone was going to massacre country music."

"White America, when they make the argument 'I hear it in rap music all the time.' Have you not been paying attention to the last 300 or 400 years how that word has been used by the white community?" Gill said then.

The 27-year-old singer on February 11 released a five-minute Instagram video addressing his use of the racial slur. He also urged fans not to defend him as he wants to "take ownership" of the offense.

After the video of using the racial slur surfaced, Wallen was indefinitely suspended from his label and his songs were taken down from the two largest radio station groups iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media, along with SiriusXM, Pandora, and CMT.

Wallen came under fire on February 2 after a video surfaced of him saying the N-word during a night out in Nashville. The actions against the 27-year-old singer have been swift, with his booking agency WME dropping him.

Wallen has a history of having used the N-word on social media, quoting rap lyrics. In 2012, he tweeted a lyric by rapper Meek Mill, "I burn bread I ain't talkin toast n---." (That tweet was deleted from Wallen's account on Wednesday morning.)

( With inputs from ANI )