Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani Accused Of ‘Ruining’ ‘The Voice’ As Ratings Fall
Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani are being hit with criticism after viewers claimed that their “non-stop” flirting on The Voice Season 12 is “unprofessional” and “ruining” the NBC show, and it looks like the couple’s PDA has millions of viewers turning off.
A slew of fans initially threatened to turn off The Voice after seeing Blake and Gwen flirting and making their romance very much public on the February 27 Monday night premiere, and it looks like they may have followed through as the show reportedly dropped close to 2.5 million viewers between the big premiere and the Thursday night instalment.
The Voice debuted to “solid ratings” during its much-anticipated Season 12 premiere opener on Monday, according to TV By The Numbers, though the subsequent episodes of the NBC singing show’s new season didn’t fare so well after viewers claimed that they were turning off after seeing Blake and Gwen’s flirting.
While The Voice Season 12 premiere opened to 13.03 million viewers, TV By The Numbers reported that the figure fell to 11.42 million for the Tuesday night episode of the singing show while the Thursday night airing slipped once again, bringing in just 10.69 million viewers to the NBC series.
But was the close to 2.5 million fans turning off between Monday and Thursday night’s airings of The Voice all down to Blake and Gwen’s flirting, which some fans claimed was “ruining” the show?
Cheatsheet claimed that Shelton and Stefani’s flirting has the potential to “ruin” the show after a slew of fans complained that they weren’t too happy about the couple bringing their personal life onto The Voice, despite the NBC series being the place where Blake first met the “Used To Love You” singer back in 2014.
The Voice viewers and social media users also claimed that Blake and Gwen’s flirting was “ruining” the series, tweeting that they believed Shelton and Stefani’s very public romance was overshadowing the talent of the contestants and Blake, Gwen, Adam Levine, and Alicia Keys began building their teams.
“Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton need to calm the f*** down. We know you’re dating. You’re ruining this show. About actual talent,” @04bunny hit back at Shelton and Stefani’s flirting front and center during the premiere, while @Diananaples wrote in response to the PDA, “Gwen and Blake are ruining the show. People tune in to listen to the performers, please stop already!”
Other The Voice fans also lashed out on social media after seeing Shelton and Stefani get seriously cozy on the Monday night premiere, claiming that the couple – who began dating in October 2015 after meeting on the set – were being “unprofessional” by flirting and showing off some major PDA while searching for talent.
“Sit ur a** down Gwen or get a room! Totally unprofessional!” Twitter user @GUfrogpile tweeted out after seeing Stefani and Shelton cozying up and flirting on The Voice, which included Stefani sitting on Shelton’s lap multiple times. “It’s not the Blake and Gwen show.”
Other viewers claimed they were already “sick” of seeing Blake and Gwen flirting on The Voice, just three episodes into the new season, which sees Blake’s girlfriend of around a year and a half return to his side after Stefani sat out Seasons 10 and 11 in 2016.
“I am sick of Blake and Gwen already! May have to stop watching!” @sandy5508 wrote of Shelton and Stefani’s PDA on March 5, while @soshoreqt asked of Shelton and Stefani getting cozy, “Anyone else tired of the Blake/Gwen shenanigans? I mean, I love [The Voice] I love Gwen, but I am sick of hearing about their relationship.”
Life & Style reported that Gwen and Blake were flaunting their relationship and flirting “non-stop” during The Voice’s big Season 12 premiere, claiming that Shelton fellow long-time coach Adam Levine appeared to be pretty uncomfortable about their PDA by joking that Shelton’s flirting with his girlfriend was “weird” and made him feel like a “third wheel.”
The Voice Season 12 returns for part four of the blind audition process on March 6.
Do you think Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani flirting on The Voice is the reason viewers are turning off Season 12?
[Featured Image by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images]
