Blake Shelton released a statement on Wednesday, August 17, after several of his alleged racist and homophobic tweets from 2009 to 2011 resurfaced online over the weekend.
“Everyone knows comedy has been a major part of my career and it’s always been out there for anyone to see. That said anyone that knows me also knows I have no tolerance for hate of any kind or form,” the 40-year-old country singer told his 17.8 million Twitter followers on Wednesday afternoon. “Can my humor at times be inappropriate? Yes. Hateful? Never. That said I deeply apologize to anyone who may have been offended.”
The tweets in question, which have reportedly since been deleted, started making the rounds online on Saturday, August 13. According to screenshots of the tweets, Shelton allegedly wrote in March 2011 that he wished “the d–khead in the next room would either shut up or learn some English so I would at least know what he’s planning to bomb!!”
In another post, the Voice coach allegedly quipped, “Standing in line at a coffee shop in LA talking with the man in front of me. He orders a skinny caramel latte. I couldn’t tell he was gay!!!”
After the problematic racist and homophobic messages started going viral, several Twitter users took to the social media platform to slam Shelton with the hashtag #BlakeSheltonIsOverParty.
“Obviously you’re not a role model,” one user tweeted, while another added, “How did these not cause an outrage earlier?”
This isn’t the first time the “Go Ahead and Break My Heart” crooner, who is currently dating Gwen Stefani, has come under fire for his posts on Twitter. In June, he called a fan “a little slow” in a tweet that’s still active on his account.
Shelton is in the midst of his 2016 summer tour, which ends at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on October 8.
