Darius Rucker Says Morgan Wallen Deserves Forgiveness For Using N-Word

Darius Rucker says the time has come to forgive Morgan Wallen for using a racial slur ... and he wants to see Morgan get his due at award shows.

The country singer -- obviously famous from Hootie & the Blowfish -- says Morgan's worked hard to become a better person since he used the n-word during a drunken convo with a friend.

Appearing on Rolling Stone's 'Music Now' podcast, Darius said it still feels like Morgan hasn't been forgiven for the incident ... at least when it comes to CMA and ACM nominations.

Darius says ... "They can say what they want, but the fact that Morgan Wallen is not up for entertainer of the year and those things is crazy. No one's selling more tickets than Morgan."

TMZ broke the story ... Morgan was captured on camera in January 2021 saying the n-word to his friend -- who was not Black -- after they'd had a night out in Nashville.

Morgan ultimately apologized, telling us he was "embarrassed and sorry" for using an "unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur" and promising to "do better."

In the fallout from the incident, Morgan was banned from the CMAs and ACMs ... but he's since been welcomed back.

Morgan's on tour right now, playing sold-out shows ... and he's been cranking out hits since the scandal, which didn't stop Wiz Khalifa, Jeezy and Lil Durk from performing with him.