John Rich is giving Morgan Wallen some advice after making his own mistakes.
Rich, who was arrested in 2009 for a misdemeanor, says that Wallen's controversial trajectory reminds him of what he went through early on in his country music career.
"Reading about Morgan Wallen this morning, and I can't help but recall all the destructive, crazy things I did early on in my career. The combo of intense pressure, expectations and over the top success is a dangerous cocktail," the "Country Done Come to Town" crooner posted on X.
Rich's arrest came when he reportedly harassed and assaulted a Jared Ashley, a former Nashville Star contestant, following a dispute, Taste of Country reports. After Ashley filed charges, Rich turned himself in and was released on $3,000 bond.
"Thank God I had great mentors who helped guide me out of that mindset, and I hope Morgan has some people around him who care about him enough to help him find a new approach to life," Rich's post continued. "It takes a lifetime to build what he's built, and one second to destroy it all. I'm rooting for him to turn it around."
Rich went on to say that fame "can be toxic" after one of his followers responded "something is going on in [Wallen's] life" and the friends surrounding him don't help. Rich was 35 at the time of his legal incident. Wallen is currently 30.
Morgan Wallen was arrested on Sunday after allegedly throwing a chair off of a roof in Nashville's Broadway district. The event, which occurred at Eric Church's bar, left him with three counts of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct. He was released at 3:30 a.m. on Monday morning with a $15,250 bond after cooperation with authorities.
The incident was Wallen's second arrest on Broadway, the first being in 2020 when he was kicked out of Kid Rock's bar for intoxication.
The "Wasted On You" singer is no stranger to controversy. In 2020, the then 27-year-old was disinvited from performing on Saturday Night Live after disobeying their quarantine guidelines while partying on campus and "mixing it up with college girls," Stereogum reports.
Several months later, he was video-taped exclaiming racial slurs to his friends after a night out. After the footage leaked, he was removed from several radio stations. Wallen later apologized through a statement.
Wallen is currently in the process of building his own bar in Nashville's Broadway district. The six-story venue is slated to open this year. Titled "This Bar and Tennessee Kitchen," the establishment will have three live music stages, six bars and an open-air rooftop.
The bar was originally announced in Feb. There has been no update on if Wallen's recent legal troubles could prevent it from opening its doors, or Wallen from going through them.
