Introduction:
Kane Brown Opens Up About Friendship With Morgan Wallen — And the Gorilla Prank He’ll Never Release
It’s no secret that Morgan Wallen sits at the top of the country music world. After his last tour became the highest-grossing country trek in history, and with billions of streams across Apple Music and Spotify, Wallen has firmly secured his superstar status. Even Kane Brown — an Entertainer of the Year winner himself — recently admitted in an interview with Jake Paul that Wallen is “the top country artist in music.”
But while their professional respect is clear, the two also share a personal friendship that has grown over the years — one strong enough to survive past controversies and even a prank involving a man in a gorilla suit.
From Controversy to Respect
Back in 2021, when Wallen came under fire after being caught on video using a racial slur, Brown was one of the few artists who spoke candidly about the situation.
“This is the first time I’ve ever even talked about this,” Brown shared. “But I personally know Morgan. I texted him that day. I told him he shouldn’t have said it, but also knowing Morgan, I knew that he didn’t mean it in the way that the world thought that he meant it.”
Since then, the two have continued to show mutual admiration. Brown has praised Wallen as a songwriter, noting their collaboration on “Rockstars,” a track from Brown’s debut self-titled album. Today, their relationship seems stronger than ever.
The Gorilla Prank
On a recent episode of the Impaulsive podcast, Brown revealed just how close they’ve become — by sharing the story of an elaborate prank he pulled on Wallen with the help of the MTV series Punk’d.
“It was sick,” Brown said with a laugh. “I had a gorilla — it was a dude in a suit — and I have a big dog yard that looks like it could hold dinosaurs. The gorilla was there, and when Morgan came down, we told him the guy was going to shoot a movie.”
To sell the bit, Brown even made up a backstory: “I told him my dad dropped out of high school and joined the circus, and that this gorilla was about to go to the Atlanta Zoo, but I got to keep him until then.”
Wallen’s reaction? Pure chaos. At one point, he started throwing bananas at the cage, trying to get the “gorilla” to move — worried for his friend’s safety.
Though the prank was filmed, Brown said fans shouldn’t expect to see it anytime soon. “I wouldn’t be releasing the footage,” he admitted.
More Than Just Music
The prank gives fans a rare peek at the lighter side of Wallen and Brown’s friendship — a bond that clearly runs deeper than industry politics or past controversies.
To pull off a stunt that outrageous, you’ve got to know someone pretty well. And for fans, it raises a fun question: if they can create memories like this offstage, what might they create together in the studio?
Whether or not a Kane Brown–Morgan Wallen collaboration is on the horizon, one thing is clear: these two stars aren’t just peers at the top of country music. They’re friends who know how to laugh, forgive, and maybe — just maybe — keep a gorilla in the backyard.