Cody Jinks Praises Morgan Wallen For Giving The Middle Finger To Awards Shows: “You Beat The System”

Got the right attitude.

Morgan Wallen is undeniably one of country music’s biggest superstars, and arguably one of the biggest names in ALL of music, alongside names like Taylor Swift and Drake. There are very few artists who are having the kind of success that Morgan is right now when it comes to everything from streaming numbers to chart performance to ticket sales. I mean, is there anybody else in country music selling out stadiums multiple nights in a row? I can’t think of many, if any, who could do that.

It’s no surprise that Morgan was named Entertainer of the Year at the 2025 CMA Awards. When you look at his body of work, whether you like him or his music or not, he’s really in a league all his own right now.

His fans have long argued that he was being snubbed by the awards shows, and it’s honestly hard to argue with that. When the biggest name in the genre is walking away from awards shows empty handed, it kinda takes away from their credibility.

But it doesn’t seem like Morgan really cares either way.

After winning the night’s top prize at the CMA Awards last November, Morgan…wasn’t even there to accept the trophy. No explanation was given for his absence, and in the days and weeks after the show he didn’t even acknowledge the award other than posting a picture of the trophy on his Instagram months later.

Obviously his silence speaks volumes on whether Morgan really cares about winning awards and what Nashville thinks of him.

And his attitude on the whole thing has won him the respect of Cody Jinks.

The Texas native is another artist who never gets the respect he deserves in Nashville circles, but who is unapologetic about not playing the Nashville game. And during a recent appearance on the Like A Farmer Podcast, Cody praised Morgan Wallen for giving a middle finger to the system:

“You know who doesn’t give a sh-t about them and does that [gives the middle finger] to everything they tell him, is Morgan Wallen. I think the guy’s funny. He’s got it figured out.

Morgan, you beat the system sir. Great job buddy.”

The comments came at the end of a longer discussion about the state of Nashville and country labels, during which Cody rightfully criticized labels for rewarding artists without them first “earning their dues,” so to speak:

“I’m old enough to say it now. God, it’s soft. It’s soft right now. It’s so soft and weak and fragile and emotional…

If somebody walked up to me and was like, ‘Oh hey dude, Cody Jinks. Yeah dude, he’s that bad-ss guy that made it on TikTok.’ Johnny Cash didn’t make it on no d-mn TikTok. TikTok my a-s…

My a-s was, get in the van and go. We cut our teeth driving around the country. I didn’t learn to play in front of 500, 5,000 or 50,000 people… I can tell you, there was one time in Madison, Wisconsin that we had as many people in the crowd as we did in the band. And we had a four piece.

That’s where I came from. We earned every single bit of it.”

Cody made it clear that he wasn’t blaming the artists who were benefiting from it, but instead his criticism was with the labels who aren’t pushing artists who have cut their chops on the road and are instead getting crowds from TikTok or given spots on major tours with built-in audiences to hone their craft:

“This isn’t against anybody. The record labels have made it this way, so the artists have to follow suit because there’s nothing else the artist can do. Everybody’s hamstrung in this business. The labels have made it this way. The labels have just taken all of the balls, just completely neutered country music.”

He was, however, quick to share who he thought was doing it the right way:

“My old Texas buddy CoJo. That guy gets sh-t on on the awards shows. Even I know that. I know how rigged it is. Cody d-mn well does…

Give me one good reason Cody Johnson’s not Entertainer of the Year. I’m not even in this stupid f-cking Nashville game and I can’t give you reason why Cody Johnson is not… And that’s nothing against Lainey or anybody else, I’m not here talking sh-t on anybody but the record labels and what they’ve done to country music, not the artists.”

Couldn’t agree more, which is why it’s nice to see major artists like Morgan giving the Nashville system the “respect” it deserves.

The post Cody Jinks Praises Morgan Wallen For Giving The Middle Finger To Awards Shows: “You Beat The System” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.