Shortly before presenting Sam Barber with his Breakthrough Country Artist Award at the 2026 AMAs, Matt Rife referenced Morgan Wallen's absence from recent awards ceremonies.

Despite being the most popular artist in modern country, Wallen has made a habit of not attending the biggest awards shows in the genre, the CMAs and the ACMs, in recent years. His decision comes after a lengthy string of what many perceive to be ‘snubs’ from the major awards shows, due to Wallen's chequered past.

Rife made a joke about Wallen not being present at the American Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada, sharing, “And actually making his very first AMA appearance, Morgan Wallen is here!”, before the camera pans to a man dressed up as Wallen.

Then, Rife pokes fun at the fact that Wallen refuses to attend most of these ceremonies, “I'm kidding, why would you even look? Of course that's not him. He hates awards shows”.

The Ohio comedian then makes a not-so-subtle defence of Wallen for choosing not to show up, highlighting how he's selling more tickets than anyone else, “He'll never be here, ever. He's too busy selling out two shows on the moon, right now”.

Rife is buddies with a number of artists in today's country landscape, and he even appeared in The Red Clay Strays’ official music video for ‘If I Didn't Know You’ earlier in the year.

Although some interpreted Rife's Wallen skit as a dig at the ‘Last Night’ chart-topper, it feels pretty clearly directed at awards shows like the CMAs and ACMs. Given the fact that there was an uproar at the latter just a couple of weeks ago when Wallen didn't win any awards, Rife's comment seems particularly pointed.

Elsewhere during the 2026 AMAs, Riley Green, Keith Urban and Darius Rucker's Hootie & The Blowfish all performed, alongside a host of mainstream heavyweights like Teyana Taylor, Pussycat Dolls, Sombr, Karol G, BTS, KATSEYE and more.

Somewhat ironically, after Rife's comments, Wallen was crowned Male Country Artist of the Year, with the Sneedville native triumphing over the likes of Jelly Roll and Luke Combs.

So far, the only awards show that seems to be in Wallen's good books is the Billboard Music Awards, with Wallen often one of the biggest winners, due to the show being primarily data-driven and stats-based, rather than being voted for by fans or members. It remains to be seen whether the ACMs, CMAs and indeed the AMAs can tempt Wallen back into the fold, and it certainly feels as though, until they can, the country awards circuit will continue to lose credibility, validity and - most crucially of all - relevance if their biggest star doesn't want to show up.

For more on Morgan Wallen, see below: