Howdy, indeed! It didn’t take long for CMAs hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood to bring up former country superstar couple Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert‘s summer divorce — and they did it rather hilariously.
“Of course, we can’t ignore the breakup that really rocked the world,” the duo noted before the star-studded crowd in Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., on Wednesday, Nov. 4. “Two people we know and love.” The cameras then panned to Miss Piggy and Kermit.
While cameras focused on the former Muppets couple, Paisley, of course, had another idea in mind. “On a completely unrelated topic,” he said, “howdy, Blake!”
The audience went wild, as did the Internet. Meanwhile, Shelton laughed the jab off like a pro. (Lambert’s reaction wasn’t captured by the cameras.)
“Carrie, have you heard that duet Blake did with Ashley Madison?” Paisley continued.
“No, no, that was Ashley Monroe,” Underwood replied.
“Have I been going to the wrong site?” Paisley said. “We don’t have to be lonely at farmersonly.com.”
Then he threw in, “Josh Duggar.” (The 19 Kids and Counting alum confessed in August that he had cheated on his wife, Anna Duggar, after after hackers released stolen data from infidelity website Ashley madison, including his personal information.)
Shelton and Lambert announced their split this past summer in a joint statement. Hours after the shocking announcement, it was confirmed that their divorce had already been finalized.
Right before the CMA Awards aired on Wednesday night, Us Weekly exclusively revealed that Shelton and his fellow Voice coach Gwen Stefani are dating. The No Doubt singer’s rep confirmed the news directly to Us, saying: “Gwen and Blake are longtime friends who have very recently started dating. Beyond that, there will be no further comment.”
While he’s currently happy with his new love interest, Shelton told Seth Meyers on Late Night With Seth Meyers this past week that he was prepared for any and all jokes related to his split.
“This year’s gonna be awkward at the CMAs, speaking of jokes,” the “Honey Bee” crooner noted.
“Because we are, it’s such a family. Everybody there is friends. There’s gotta be one about me and Miranda. Brad Paisley is not doing his job if he doesn’t look down there and go, ‘Ha ha!’ You have to address the elephant in the room. We’ve had the conversations like, ‘Okay, dude. I’ll sit there and let you kick me in the face a few times.’ I know it’s coming.”
