Blake Shelton Snubbed At 2017 ACMs, Fans Blame Gwen Stefani & Miranda Lambert
Blake Shelton was noticeably shut out when it came to the nominations for the 2017 ACM Awards, and fans speculate that his high-profile romance with Gwen Stefani and the divorce from ex-wife Miranda Lambert may have something do with his recent dry spell at country award shows.
As reported by Gossip Cop, Blake was absent from the list of nominees when the 2017 ACM Awards were announced on February 16 despite releasing music within the eligibility period, while Miranda soared following the release of her album, The Weight of these Wings, with four nominations. Lambert’s album was a massive hit, and it was thought to be about her and Shelton’s divorce,
Blake’s fans were quick to hit back at the ACMs for what they claimed was a “snub” against Shelton, who has taken home four ACM awards in the past and even hosted the show with Reba McEntire from 2011 until 2012 before then taking the reins with Luke Bryan from 2013 until 2015. Shelton loyalists claimed his lack of nominations might have had more to do with his personal life than his music career.
“@ACMawards could someone explain how the person [with] the best selling country album/most well known artist doesn’t get nominated? Biased much?” @laurenmbraun tweeted out about Shelton’s apparent ACM Awards snub as rumors continue to swirl concerning Shelton’s future on The Voice, while @cherrysodablog sarcastically added this comment following the 2017 ACM nominations, “Nothing for Blake? There’s a shocker #ACMs.”
Some Shelton fans then went on to accuse the ACMs and country music of taking sides following Blake’s 2015 divorce with Miranda, suggesting his dating life may have overshadowed his country music career in the eyes of the voters.
Twitter user @felicia23456 alluded to the possibility that Blake and Gwen’s romance could have played a part in the apparent ACMs snub, posting snaps of Shelton and Stefani kissing to Twitter while claiming that Blake “is winning at life! F*** the awards!!!”
Blake fan @ShefaniStan also alleged that Shelton’s personal life with Gwen might have overshadowed his music, writing, “The industry lost custody of Blake in the divorce. Blake’s got the fans, the sold-out shows, the album sales and Gwen. He’s already won,” while @shefxni added, “[Miranda] nominated for 4 ACM awards and Blake zero? Delete this s***.”
Other fans even threatened to boycott the ACM Awards over what they claimed was a serious snub.
Blake Shelton fan @Lexie_Klemm tweeted, “I want to know how @blakeshelton was NOT nominated for an @ACMawards when he had the biggest year with his new album and #1s?!” alongside the hashtag #boycottACM.
The ACM Awards committee hasn’t commented on what fans are claiming is a serious snub, although fans have noted in the past that Shelton appears to have missed out on a number of country music awards in the wake of his divorce with Miranda Lambert and subsequent relationship with Gwen Stefani in 2015.
Shelton was last nominated for an ACM Award in 2014, one year prior to the announcement of his and Miranda’s divorce, when he was honored with five nominations for Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Vocal Event of the Year, Entertainer of The Year and Male Vocalist of The Year.
Notably, Miranda has received multiple nominations at every ACMs since and got a whole lot of love when it came to the 2017 ACM Awards, picking up nominations for Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year for The Weight of these Wings, as well as Single Record of the Year and Video of the Year for “Vice.”
Blake’s fans speculated back in September that his recent snubs at country music award show could have something to do with his high-profile romance with Gwen as Shelton was also shut out from the 2016 CMA Awards while Miranda picked up a nomination for Female Vocalist of the Year.
Fans alleged at the time that the country music community may have been taking sides when it came to Shelton and Lambert’s 2015 divorce amid his romance with Gwen, tweeting last year they believed Shelton’s recent slew of snubs was more to do with his private life that his music.
“I am really p*****d,” Blake fan @your_honeybee2 wrote online last year after it was revealed that Shelton didn’t receive any nominations at the CMA Awards despite releasing his most recent album, If I’m Honest, within the eligibility period.
“If this happened in any way, shape, or form because Gwen is Blake’s [girlfriend], then the CMA is completely out of whack,” they added at the time, suggesting Shelton and Stefani’s romance could have something to do with the apparent snubs.
What do you think of Blake Shelton’s 2017 ACM Awards snub? Do you think his divorce from Miranda Lambert and his new romance with Gwen Stefani could have played a part?
[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]
