Morgan Wallen stepped on country music’s most historic and storied stage over the weekend, a sign that many interpreted as the Grand Ole Opry giving the troubled star its blessing and a path to reconciliation after he used a racial slur on camera.

While the country star’s return to the public eye seemed inevitable, a tweet from the Opry about Wallen surprising fans at its regular Saturday broadcast show led to heavy criticism of the mostly white institution and its history as a gatekeeper.

Performers ranging from Yola, Allison Russell, Rissi Palmer, Noelle Scaggs of Fitz and the Tantrums, Joy Oladokun, Chely Wright, as well as Grammy winners Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell, weighed in on how the Opry’s decision could have troubling consequences for artists of color in country music.

The Grand Ole Opry has received criticism after Morgan Wallen appeared on stage Saturday for a surprise performance with ERNEST.

He resumed touring arenas last year and has been releasing new music, including collaborations with rapper Lil Durk, who is Black, and country artist ERNEST.

Wallen made an unannounced appearance on the Opry, which has been broadcasting for nearly 100 years, to sing with ERNEST.

For many Black artists, the promises for change and racial equity inside country music’s institutions continue to ring empty.

In 2021, writer Holly G started a blog called the Black Opry to create a home for Black artists and fans.

Wallen has been banned from performances in the country music industry since video surfaced of him using a racial slur.

Following Wallen’s appearance, Holly G wrote a letter asking for an explanation of how the Opry felt that Wallen met their standards.

Soon after the video of Wallen was published on TMZ, the country singer apologized and told fans not to defend his racist language.

Wallen himself acknowledged a lack of awareness when asked on "Good Morning America" in July of last year about whether country music had a problem with race.

Charles Hughes, a professor at Rhodes College in Memphis and author of "Country Soul: Making Music and Making Race in the American South," said playing the Opry — one of the most important institutions in the genre’s history — legitimizes artists.

The timing of Wallen's Opry appearance came the same weekend as Grammy-nominated country star Mickey Guyton tweeted about a racist commenter, while a white country star RaeLynn said in an interview with a conservative podcaster that the genre was not racist because she had never experienced racism herself