Hayley Williams doesn’t mind calling out Morgan Wallen. In a new interview with The New York Times, the Paramore frontwoman revealed that Wallen — who was filmed hurling the N-word back in 2021 — is the inspiration behind a lyric she wrote referencing a “racist country singer.”
On their Times podcast, journalists Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli asked Williams for the identity of the musician she was referring to on “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party,” a track from her third studio album of the same name, during which she sings, “I’ll be the biggest star at this racist country singer’s bar.”
In response to the question, Williams was clear: “It could be a couple, but I’m always talking about Morgan Wallen, I don’t give a shit.”
After a few giggles from Caramanica and Coscarelli, Williams continued: “Find me at Whole Foods, bitch! I don’t care. I just don’t care.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Williams shared how important it is for her to speak about race-related issues. “I’m never not ready to scream at the top of my lungs about racial issues. I think it’s so intersectional that it overlaps with everything from climate change to LGBTQIA+ issues,” Williams said on the podcast, later adding: “When you’re passionate about something and you really believe in something, and have the will to spread that, yeah, talk about it.”
During the interview, Williams also opened up about some of the lyrical references on her new album, including on “True Believer,” where she references “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday. The singer also talks about an area of Franklin, Tennessee, which she says a formerly enslaved man bought from his former enslaver.
“It’s still there and it’s protected now. Franklin and Nashville are being gentrified all the time,” Williams said. “I’m really proud of the fact I wrote about my city, and I was also able to inject some of this history I’m aware of, and feels really important to pass on. I just felt like a real lyricist when I finished that.”
