Country Star Reveals the Ill-Conceived Prank That Should Have Gotten Him Kicked off Morgan Wallen’s Tour

After losing everything when a 2018 wildfire swept through his California home, Nate Smith turned pain into gold with the viral TikTok hit “Wildfire”. Inspired by the song’s success, he moved to Nashville and recorded under the Word Records banner before signing with Sony Music Nashville. Releasing two studio albums and two No. 1 Country Airplay hits—”Whiskey on You” and “World on Fire”—Smith caught another break when he opened for Morgan Wallen on the chart-dominating country star’s 2024 One Night at a Time Tour. However, if you ask Smith, the “Whiskey Glasses” crooner should have tossed him off the tour after this prank gone wrong.

Videos by American Songwriter

Nate Smith Thought He “Was the Funniest Guy in the World” After Morgan Wallen Prank

Speaking with Billboard News, Nate Smith admitted he “may have thrown a drink” at Morgan Wallen while the Entertainer of the Year was performing.

“Literally a full cup,” said the “Bulletproof” singer, 40. “I thought I was the funniest guy in the world. First night of the tour.”

Of course, it wasn’t the first projectile to hit Wallen mid-performance. One fan previously chucked their phone at the Sneedville, Tennessee-born artist as he sang “Cowgirls”, hitting him on the shoulder. Not long before that, one fan decided to toss their undergarments onstage while he was performing “I Had Some Help”. After being hit in the face by the piece of clothing, an unfazed Wallen simply flung it back into the crowd.

At best, these kinds of incidents are an annoying distraction. At worst, they’re a safety risk. Country singer Riley Green recently needed stitches after a fan threw their phone and struck him in the face during a Melbourne, Australia show earlier this month.

[RELATED: Morgan Wallen, Nate Smith Lead Top 46 Songs That Can’t Stop Mentioning “Whiskey”]

“He’s a Good Man”

Fortunately for Nate Smith, Morgan Wallen simply laughed off his ill-advised stunt.

“Morgan forgave me. He should have kicked me off the tour, but we laughed about it,” Smith continued. “We FaceTimed. We talked it through. He’s like, ‘Man, I probably would have done the same thing,’ or, ‘I’ve done the same thing.’ He understood. So he’s a very forgiving person. He has a lot of grace. He’s a good man.”

In another surprising display of mercy, Wallen didn’t even retaliate against his opening act.

“You made me think you were going to the entire tour, and you didn’t,” Smith said, addressing the “Last Night singer. “You held back, because you’re a man who walks in grace.”

Featured image by Megan Briggs/Getty Images