Jason Isbell Donates $53,000 to NAACP From Morgan Wallen Song Royalties

Morgan Wallen, the controversial country singer who was filmed using a racial slur, included a cover of Jason Isbell’s “Cover Me Up” on his most recent album. The album, and, subsequently, the track, ended up having a high number of sales, downloads, and streams due to the controversy.

Due to Wallen’s actions, Isbell has pledged to donate his songwriter royalties from the song to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

“So… A portion of this money goes to me, since I wrote ‘Cover Me Up,’” Isbell said on Twitter almost exactly a year ago as a response to a story about Wallen’s surging sales. “I’ve decided to donate everything I’ve made so far from this album to the Nashville chapter of the NAACP. Thanks for helping out a good cause, folks.”

This week, the Nashville chapter of the NAACP has confirmed Isbell’s donation pledge.

“We absolutely appreciate him honoring his word in making that donation,” Sheryl Guinn of the NAACP said. “We appreciate those funds because we are definitely able to use that in advocacy against any inequality that we come across. That money will be put to very good use advocating against inequality. So we appreciate him making good on that promise, and trusting us with those funds to make a difference in this world.”

Photo credit: Adam Shanker / Shutterstock.com