Gwen Stefani Defends Flirting With Blake Shelton On ‘The Voice’ After Backlash
Gwen Stefani is calling her flirting with Blake Shelton on The Voice “so real,” amid serious backlash from fans, and reports claiming producers allegedly offered the couple a big bonus to put their relationship on display.
Stefani recently opened up about being back by Blake’s side on Season 12 of the NBC show after sitting out Seasons 9 and 10, where she appeared to hit back after some fans speculated that she and Shelton were purposefully packing on the PDA as a ratings ploy.
“The show is so real,” Gwen said of The Voice in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight after she and Blake received a whole lot of backlash from fans for putting their relationship on display and flirting their way through the show’s famous blind auditions.
“All it is is us just being there and being us. So, it’s been really fun,” Gwen continued amid the backlash over their flirting from fans, admitting that she was initially nervous to sit alongside Shelton again.
“I feel like when we were coming back this season, I was a little nervous. I was like, ‘This is going to be weird!'” Stefani revealed of her return to The Voice, but added, “any time I can be around Blake is a blessing.”
Gwen’s admission that her and Blake’s flirting on The Voice is “so real” comes amid accusations that she and Shelton may have been ramping up their romance as blind auditions premiered last month in an attempt to bring more attention to the show and send ratings through the roof.
Some fans claimed on social media, prior to Stefani’s recent confessions, that The Voice was putting too much attention on Shelton and Stefani’s relationship following her big return, slamming the NBC show for focusing on Gwen’s romance after the couple both did some major flirting during Season 12’s first few shows, and not on the contestants.
“So over Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani…. throw up…. can we just get back to the people auditioning and take the attention off these two?” @Dvscott81Scott tweeted out of Blake and Gwen’s flirting on the currently airing season of The Voice, while Twitter user @lalatare02 hit back at the show, Shelton, and Stefani on the social media site.
“Please make this season about the contestants. We all know Gwen and Blake are a couple. Move on.”
“I think the Gwen [and] Blake thing is distracting from the contestants. Let’s tone that down please,” @dmcv1 added, amid Stefani and Shelton’s blatant flirting on The Voice, while viewer @FormanFf hit back earlier this month, “This season is starting to sound like the Gwen and Blake hour! Please put the focus back on the contestants!”
The Voice viewers’ backlash over Gwen and Blake’s PDA came shortly after Radar Online alleged earlier this year that Shelton and Stefani were supposedly getting paid big bucks to put their relationship on display while building up their teams this season.
Gwen and Blake are allegedly “getting paid an exceptional bonus that is significantly higher than the other judges to keep the spark alive on-camera,” according to a source who spoke to the site, which means Stefani and the country music star showing off as much flirting and PDA as possible.
“[The Voice] producers really want to see Gwen and Blake in competition more often this upcoming season, versus working with each other like they have in the past,” continued the insider of Shelton and Stefani’s alleged PDA bonus at the time.
Gwen, Blake and The Voice producers have not confirmed the claims, though fans have noted while watching recent episodes that Stefani and her boyfriend of close to a-year-and-a-half do appear to have been in close competition while flirting on the show.
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton were slammed by a slew of viewers just last week after they were accused of turning around for predominantly the same acts for what some watchers claimed was an attempt to show off their flirty rivalry.
[Featured Image by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for People’s Choice Awards]
