Wrong Rumors About “The Voice” Coaches

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(NBC)

In honor of Tuesday’s season finale of “The Voice,” Gossip Cop is taking a look back at rumors about the show’s coaches. Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson and more of the NBC competition’s panelists are often targeted by the tabloids and gossip sites, though the claims are usually wrong. Check out some of the falsehoods from the past two seasons below.

Last October, Life & Style claimed the “bromance” between Shelton and Levine had “cooled off.” The tabloid quoted a so-called “source,” who insisted the longtime friends weren’t “as close as they once were” and had “definitely drifted apart.” The erroneous tale was seemingly inspired by the co-stars’ on-camera bickering, which is really nothing more than good-natured competition that’s played up for laughs. Shelton even gushed about his friendship with Levine in an interview with People, explaining, “We drive each other nuts, but outside of this world, he’s one of my best friends and it’s because of his heart. He needs his face slapped around, but he has a huge, huge heart.” For his part, Levine touted their “love affair,” and maintained, “All of the [expletive] that we do comes from a place of love.”

In November, RadarOnline ran multiple stories targeting Jennifer Hudson. The site first claimed she was getting fired over “nightmare diva behavior,” and then alleged she was “at war” with the series’ executives. Among the purported issues was a supposed feud with Shelton, but a rep for Hudson assured Gossip Cop, “She and Blake adore each other.” The website also tried to contend that producers were upset with the singer’s references to”J-Hud Productions,” even though that was just the nickname for her team. As Gossip Cop explained, the real reason Hudson wasn’t going from season 13 to 14 was because she was already committed to appearing on “The Voice UK.” But far from being “not welcomed back,” as asserted, Hudson is now set to return to “The Voice” for season 15.

The following month, Life & Style again showed it was ill-informed when it announced Levine was “taking a year off” from “The Voice.” The magazine claimed the Maroon 5 front man had been talking about “vacating his rotating red chair for a year,” and cited an “insider,” who alleged he felt it was “time for a little break from the show.” But as Gossip Cop pointed out, at the time that tale was published in December, Levine was already committed to the show’s next cycle. In fact, an NBC press release had announced his participation in October, and he and his co-stars had already filmed the new auditions, even though the premiere wouldn’t air until February. As such, it was impossible for him to be taking a full year off. And that still isn’t in the cards since Levine will again be in his usual seat for the upcoming fall season as well.

Meanwhile, in February, RadarOnline wanted readers to believe Gwen Stefani was becoming between Shelton and “The Voice.” The website’s spin said the country superstar wanted “out” of the reality show and was “super resentful” because Stefani hadn’t been a coach since season 12. The outlet wrongly made it seem like the No Doubt front woman had been booted from the program when she really just wanted to “take a break” to focus on her own music, a contact told Gossip Cop on the condition of anonymity. Stefani was welcomed back for a Christmas performance with Shelton, and he’s stuck with the gig despite her absence on the coaching panel. In fact, like Levine, he’s set to return next season, too.

Amidst Clarkson’s turn as a coach, OK! claimed in April that she and Shelton were “at each other’s throats” behind the scenes. He was described as feeling “threatened” by her presence, while she was supposedly “in tears” over their “vicious” off-camera disputes. But this was pure sensationalism, playing off their on-screen rivalry. The pair had already made clear that they’re competitive professionally, but not at odds personally. For instance, Shelton told People about Clarkson, “Make no mistake, Kelly is my friend.” And when she recently surprised him with a handmade quilt, he exclaimed on Instagram, “NEVER has a voice coach hand made me a gift!!! Thank you Kelly Clarkson!!!”

Most recently, Naughty Gossip contended Clarkson was “permanently” replacing Hudson on “The Voice.” The blog insisted that the positive reception to Clarkson’s debut stint as a coach was “not good news” for Hudson’s future with the series. As Gossip Cop noted, however, Clarkson never replaced Hudson in the first place. When Clarkson was first announced as a coach, Hudson hadn’t even started shooting her own season yet. Furthermore, there was a logic flaw: Even if Clarkson did have a “permanent” seat on panel, that wouldn’t prevent Hudson from also taking part, as there’d still be another chair. Sure enough, our debunking was proven right when NBC officially announced both Clarkson AND Hudson would be coaches for season 15.

One of the downsides to being a highly-rated reality show is that the gossip media tends to stir up drama among the stars. But as seen here, the claims about “The Voice” coaches are often easily disproven. And as long as the series remains on the air, Gossip Cop will continue to clear up any rumors as necessary.