Blake Shelton has found himself at the centre of a fan backlash, thanks to his new song Minimum Wage.
The Voice judge debuted the track on NBC’s New Year’s Eve television special, explaining that he'd written it about his relationship with fiancee Gwen Stefani.
But one line in the chorus has elicited a heated response - when Shelton sings: "Girl, your love can make a man feel rich on minimum wage."
Music fans took to Twitter to slam Shelton for releasing the song amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to countless businesses shutting down and millions of people losing their jobs, with one writing: "Does anyone else find Blake Shelton’s Minimum Wage song to be incredibly tone deaf to our country’s current state?"
Another concurred: "I love his music but the timing for Minimum Wage isn't great. With so many people out of work and struggling the song feels a little tone deaf. I'd like to hear songs that are more personal. Wish he wrote more of his own stuff because he's an incredible song writer."
A third wrote: "Please apologise to everyone for your song Minimum Wage. From what I read you've p**sed a lot of people off during a time when we need songs of hope and charity not more crap about how much you and Gwen are in love. What an insult to all of us. Boooooo."
Shelton has yet to respond to the backlash on his social media pages.
