Kelly Clarkson Defends Herself After Openly Gay ‘The Voice’ Contestant Called Her Comment ‘Small-Minded’
Kelly Clarkson is on the defense! The newest coach on The Voice was criticized by an artist who thought that she misjudged her.
Enter Molly Stevens
The contestant that took several jabs at the "Medicine" singer on social media was Nashville, Tennessee singer Molly Stevens. In a since deleted post on Instagram, Stevens shared her true feelings regarding being compared to Melissa Etheridge and the Indigo Girls by Clarkson during the filming of The Voice Battle Rounds. While she was humbled by the compliment, Stevens stated that she was agitated that Clarkson put her in a box.
"While I'm extremely honored to be in the category of talent I do believe that comment did us all a disservice and only threw us into a labeling trap. It felt small minded to me and exactly what I feel we need to bring attention to the world," said Stevens in a post transcribed by People Magazine.
Stevens went on and stated that while she recognizes that she is a gay singer-songwriter, she was tired of getting put in categories. She also added that she had to talk about the situation in front of her mother and niece while they were in the New York City area.
Kelly Clarkson 'Bummed'
According to Entertainment Tonight, a fan who saw Stevens's comment posted her words and sent it across Twitter. Eventually, Stevens's statement got the attention of Clarkson, who revealed her heartbreaking opinion on Stevens's comments on the social media platform.
Wow. This really bums me out. I need everyone 2 hear me & hear ALL OF THE WORDS I SAY. I compared Molly to Melissa Etheridge, Patty Griffin (a name that was left out conveniently), & the Indigo Girls purely because of the rasp in her voice & that she’s an amazing storyteller. https://t.co/Ci5fqDKzA3— Kelly Clarkson (@kelly_clarkson) March 27, 2018
Apologies And Twitter Backlash
Following Clarkson's tweet, Stevens quickly retracted her statement on Twitter. The singer sincerely apologized to Clarkson for thinking differently and for her actions and added that she has always admired her.
However, several fans were unable to forgive Stevens for criticizing Clarkson on social media as many Twitter users put salty GIFs in their statements and hurled negative comments to her direction.
"The sad thing is I loved your voice but when you throw shade at someone like Kelly Clarkson, who has sure a pure heart I have to say, even with the apology, I'd never buy any music you put out. You blew it and only have yourself to blame," wrote one Twitter user.
Keeping Up With 'The Voice' Coaches
Clarkson is not the only coach that recently made headlines. The show's original female coach, Christina Aguilera, turned heads when she went makeup-free during her appearance on the Paper Magazine cover. The 37-year-old "Feel This Moment" singer decided to let her natural beauty shine through, which made fans fall in love with her.
Meanwhile, both Season 13 coaches Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Hudson made appearances at the March for Our Lives rally. Cyrus performed "The Climb," while Hudson covered Bob Dylan's iconic protest song "The Times They Are a-Changin."
Also, former coach Gwen Stefani is in the final stages of preparing a Las Vegas residency.
Enstars reached out to NBC and 'The Voice' for a comment.
