Stars Who Can't Stand Blake Shelton

Considering the notable performances and jaw-dropping wins at the 2020 ACM Awards, fans anticipated that Sept. 16, 2020 (the night of the award show) would be packed with a litany of memorable moments and surprises. That being said, viewers didn't necessarily expect the hijinks and high drama behind the scenes — or, more specifically, the lengths that power couple Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani went through in order to avoid Shelton's ex-wife, singer Miranda Lambert, at all costs. (Then again, considering Lambert and Shelton's acrimonious divorce, it might not be that surprising after all.) 

The debacle was yet another reminder that while Shelton might be one of country music's most successful artists, it doesn't mean he hasn't made enemies on the path to stardom. The fact that quite a few of those enemies (sometimes frenemies) happen to be celebrities themselves has only made Shelton's feuds even more memorable. So which stars can't stand Blake Shelton? Read on to find out.

Blake Shelton and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine worked as co-hosts and coaches on the television competition show The Voice for almost a decade before Levine left the show in 2019. However, just because the country crooner and the rocker worked together doesn't mean they played nice. Though their on screen rivalry was seemingly played up by both stars, it doesn't necessarily mean that Shelton and Levine weren't actively engaging in a real-life feud.

In a 2017 exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight, Levine opened up about the dynamic he and Shelton worked hard to maintain and foster on the show — namely, that they hate each other. According to Levine, their constant bickering ended up being a major tenet of The Voice's appeal to viewers, so much so that when they decided to "play nice" during the show's 13th season, it caused their producers to go into a full-throttle panic.

"... [W]e tried to be nice to each other and it didn't go well at all," Levine recounted. "I felt kind of hollow inside and the producers all panicked, like, 'You're supposed to hate each other. What are you all doing?'" he said jokingly."Once we started hating each other again, I started getting people on my team, he started getting people on his ... It's almost how we show each other we love each other, by hating each other. [It's] dysfunctional."

Considering the time and effort Blake Shelton put into avoiding ex-wife Miranda Lambert at all costs during the 2020 ACM Awards, it's doesn't seem liike the once-married country stars are on the best of terms. Considering the fact their split happened in 2015, it looks like time has yet to heal even a single wound — let alone all of them. 

The myriad of reasons Lambert and Shelton called it quits in 2015 are the stuff of country legend — or at least a few country songs. According to Country Living, the two "had only met in passing" before they were asked to perform together for the CMT 100 Greatest Duets special in 2005. While Shelton was married to his first wife at the time, during a 2012 episode of VH1's Behind the Music, he revealed (via Entertainment Weekly), "I've never had that kind of experience with anybody." Shelton added, "Looking back on that, I was falling in love with her, right there on stage."

While the beginning of their relationship might have been the stuff of romcoms, what ensued was the complete opposite. After Shelton began his gig on The Voice in 2011 — the same year he and Lambert tied the knot — rumors began to swirl of a strain due to long-distance and cheating, per E! News. In the end, their issues proved insurmountable. These days, it doesn't seem like Lambert and Shelton are eager to make nice anytime soon. 

When it comes to bromances, the friendship between Blake Shelton and country singer Luke Bryan might be country music's most quintessential. However, just because they're best friends doesn't mean they don't take the occasional swing at each other when given the chance. Case in point? A Twitter "feud" between the two in August 2020 caused such a stir among the denizens of the internet that it managed to make headlines. 

As People magazine reported at the time, Shelton initiated the faux feud, ribbing Bryan in a Twitter post which featured a screenshot of a news clip claiming that a study found that Bryan's music had been linked to "falling asleep at the wheel." The "One Margarita" singer fired back at Shelton on social media with his own barb, joking that "girlfriend [Gwen Stefani] is the only reason people are listening to [his] last two singles." Seemingly undaunted, Shelton was quick to fire back with his own response: "Hey don't hate just cause I know how to work the system!!!"

Okay, so calling Shelton and Bryan's repartee a feud might be a bit of a stretch, but hey, who doesn't love to sit courtside at a good old-fashioned roast between friends?