Jeff Bridges Channels Caleb Pressley by Mispronouncing Morgan Wallen's Name at 2024 CMA Awards

Last night, the CMA recruited The Big Lebowski star, Jeff Bridges, to present the most prestigious award of the night, Entertainer of the Year, to Sneedville hitmaker, Morgan Wallen.

It marked a colossal moment for Morgan Wallen, who had seemingly been shunned from the CMA Awards in recent years. Despite the gravity of the situation, Bridges injected some levity via an amusing but innocent blunder, by mispronouncing Morgan's last name as ‘Waylon’, when reading out the victor of the coveted accolade.

Perhaps Jeff Bridges was making a (very) subtle homage to the late great Waylon Jennings, but it seems this was merely an honest mistake from the King Kong icon. Fans were quick to point out on social media that this served as an unintentional callback to Morgan Wallen's hilarious interview with Barstool Sports personality, Caleb Pressley, during which Pressley intentionally butchers his name.

When the ‘Last Night’ chart-topper corrects him, Pressley responds by flippantly remarking, “You say tomato, I say potato”, a nod to the famous lyric in George and Ira Gershwin's ‘Let's Call the Whole Thing Off’ from the classic 1937 film, Shall We Dance.

Regardless of Jeff Bridges’ humorous faux-pas, the significance of Morgan Wallen's triumph as the 2024 CMA Entertainer of the Year was not lost on fans. This is the strongest indication yet that the CMA are ready to embrace the Sneedville megastar, who has become one of the most popular artists across all genres in recent years.

Elsewhere during the blockbuster 2024 CMA Awards ceremony, Shaboozey treated the audience to an energising performance of his viral smash, ’A Bar Song (Tipsy)’, while viewers were also able to enjoy stellar sets from Post Malone, Chris Stapleton, Kelsea Ballerini, Noah Kahan, Bailey Zimmerman, Eric Church and many more.

For more on Morgan Wallen, see below: