Country Singer Blake Shelton Under Fire for Gay Jokes on Twitter

By AOL Music Editors Posted May 6th 2011 12:30AM

PETA now has an ally in its war against Blake Shelton and his tweets.

It seems GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) is angry at the country superstar for a Twitter post on which he rewrote a Shania Twain lyric (from 'Any Man of Mine') into what the organization deems is a "violent, anti-gay statement."

The controversy all started with this tweet from the singer, who's one of four coaches on NBC's runaway hit, 'The Voice', "Re-writing my fav Shania Twain song ... Any man that tries Touching my behind He's gonna be a beaten, bleedin', heaving kind of guy ... "

Blake has been rewriting a lot of country songs lately via Twitter ... but none has gotten even a fraction of the response this one did, as the singer was soon flooded with people questioning whether he's homophobic.

GLAAD (@glaad) tweeted, "No, @BlakeShelton - violent, anti-gay statements are not what a woman wants. Apologize now. #LGBT #gay #thevoice @NBCTheVoice"

At first, Blake didn't let the controversy get to him, tweeting, "Ba! Ha! Reading all my anti-gay hate tweets ... Ha! Ha! If people only knew even a little about me, my family and friends. Dumb asses ..."

But then he tried to rationalize, insisting his rewritten lyrics were "meant to be from a girls point of view ... Thus, 'Shania Twain'"

Those tweets followed with several apologies and clarifications from the Oklahoma native:

"Hey y'all allow me to seriously apologize for the misunderstanding with the whole re-write on the Shania song last night."

"It honestly wasn't even meant that way."

"When it comes to gay/lesbian rights or just feelings ... I love everybody. So go look for a real villain and leave me out of it!!!"

"@glaad - hey I want my fans and @nbcthevoice fans to know that anti-gay and lesbian violence is unacceptable!!!!! Help me!!!! And DM me..."

Blake's bosses at 'The Voice' are standing by him -- and with a sense of humor -- tweeting, "@glaad listen to us #thevoice when we tell you that Blake is all about love, laughter, music, @AdamLevine and no hate."

This isn't the first time Blake has come under fire with the gay community. Just after fellow country star Chely Wright announced she was a lesbian, he tweeted, "Sooo..... Chely Wright just came out. Guess this opens the door... I Blake Shelton am a lesbian."

That, too, prompted a sea of angry responses, but Blake insists he was just admiring the brunette beauty. "Haters.. When I say someone is HOT it's actually a complement... Get it?" he tweeted. "I don't care if Chely Wright is gay. I think she's hot!!!"

And then there's PETA ... Blake has clashed with the animal rights organization for years, and often pokes fun of it via Twitter. Example: PETA once tweeted, "Animal testing breaks hearts," to which Blake responded, "Yeah, and bow hunting breaks their lungs!"

The avid hunter was eventually blocked from receiving PETA's tweets after a long war of words.

As for this current controversy, do we think the big guy is sweating? Probably not. "It's puzzled me why country artists have to be so politically correct," Blake once told Nashville's Tennessean newspaper. "I mean, I'm not a politician ... I'm just more open lately, and it's amazing the reaction to that. People either love me or hate me, but it's the first time they are noticing which is awesome for me."

Blake will take time off from 'The Voice' and from the road this month, as he's set to marry Grammy-winning songbird Miranda Lambert on May 14.

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Comments

(29)

Friday 06 May

By mark

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got to love him..lmao..and i'am not gay...

By Marie

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My laptop has a fingerprint scanner built in to it to prevent unauthorized access.

Sounds like some need to be equipped with breathalyzers.

By Sherwood

I'm gay, and was not offended. I think groups like GLAAD and the NAACP needs to focus their efforts on more important things than monitoring stupid "tweets." That said, when will these celebrities ever learn? It seems every day one of them is sending out a dumb tweet, and then releasing a pathetic mea culpa the next day.

By georgie

I read the tweet and it isn't anything to get excited about. With all the drama in this world and real haters out there, why so much hoop-la over something this innocent?

By laura22122

Everyone is wayy too overly sensitive these days. These groups really have nothing better to do than hunt for people that have a sense of humor or say something "politically incorrect". I think Blake Shelton is a normal human being that doesn't give a shi* what these special groups think and neither do I. GO BLAKE!

By Lalica

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This article says that Blake is making a joke. I don't consider any violence or threat of violence as a joke, whether it be towards another human being or an animal. Has Twitter encouraged everyone to express things they would never say to others in person?? Think, if its something you wouldn't say out loud, don't tweet it into the cyber universe!!

By SkyBlue

While I agree we need to be more civil to each other, I also think we've carried the PC thing way too far. Lighten up people. Learn to laugh at yourselves for once.

By Jupiter

My gay friends can be very critical and even cruel to others. Does anyone honestly believe that gay people NEVER make fun of anyone? Or never threaten violence against someone? If so, than you're sadly mistaken. So lets get off the high horse, people.

Thursday 12 May

By kerry

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When I first heard the rewritten lyrics I instantly recognized that they were from a woman's point of view. Men can write women's songs and vise versa. Blake's just a good songwriter, period. If you're not familiar with his music, check it out.

No one should be forced to apologize for anything, or else you'll never know if the apology is sincere.

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