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Morgan Wallen’s father penned a heartfelt letter about his son overcoming obstacles over the years.
The award-winning country artist, 32, recently released his I’m The Problem limited edition zine, which includes articles, interviews, never-before-seen photos and letters. In one of them, his father, Tommy Wallen, a pastor who has worked with people who are incarcerated, shared a candid reflection of his son’s struggles and how he’s grown from them.
Tommy Wallen — who referenced his son’s “dashed” dreams of playing college baseball because of an injury, and getting voted off The Voice in 2014 — said his son’s fourth studio record and ubiquitous presence on country radio stations shows that “Morgan has, by all means, made it,” per Holler, which published the full letter. He reflected on a moment he felt proud of his son, noticing that he made a point to help pick up trash in a private suite after a concert in London, rather than heading straight to a party. Tommy Wallen said his son “has become a man,” who “hasn’t lost his way.”
Tommy Wallen went on to write that he’s “seen how success doesn’t get rid of all your problems, no matter how big that success is. It takes a lot to admit that you might be one of those problems. I know because, at a tougher time in my life, I had to say the same thing to myself,” he wrote. “I’ve also seen a lot of people in that position, through my work as a pastor, at the moment they realize they may have ruined everything they’d worked so hard for. It’s what you do about those problems that really matters, though. I’m proud that Morgan has had problems in his life. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be the man he is today. But I’m even more proud of what he’s done with them.”