Adam Levine has responded to the backlash he has received after muttering a controversial comment on NBC’s The Voice last night.
As the final three of his contestants -- Amber Carrington, Sarah Simmons and Judith Hill – stood up on the stage facing elimination, Levine said under his breath “I hate this country.” Only one of his contestants survived the elimination.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that Twitter users immediately reacted on the social networking site, with one writing “Adam Levine just said 'I hate this country' on TV... Not a smart move, dude. Not smart at all. #america," and one defending him, writing “The two best singers on @NBCTheVoice got voted off, I agree with Adam, 'I hate this country.' It's not the voice, it's the country show."
The Maroon 5 frontman, however, also used Twitter to voice his side of the story.
He made it very clear he was joking in a series of posts, starting with:
joke-noun1. something said or done to provoke laughter or cause amusement, as a witticism, a short and amusing anecdote, or prankish act
— Adam Levine (@adamlevine) May 29, 2013
He then wrote “hu•mor•less (hymr-ls) adj. 1. Lacking a sense of humor. 2. Said or done without humor.” He followed up his posts with “light•heart•ed Function: adjective 1 : free from care, anxiety, or seriousness : happy-go-lucky 2 : cheerfully optimistic,” and “mis•un•der•stand Pronunciation: \(ˌ)mi-ˌsən-dər-ˈstand\ Date: 13th century 1 : to fail to understand 2 : to interpret incorrectly.”
image: NBC