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‘The Voice’ fans call the show 'racist' after noticing an odd trend in eliminations: ‘They prefer...’

‘The Voice’ once landed in hot water after fans accused the show of ‘favoring’ White contestants

With its unique concept of blind auditions, 'The Voice' stands out as one of the most loved singing reality shows. While the show is famous for welcoming participants regardless of their age, color, or ethnicity, it still grabbed major attention when fans accused the show of allegedly being racist. It all started with 'The Voice' Season 22 semifinals when viewers called out the producers for favoring White singers.

The controversy started after 'The Voice' semi-finals aired on December 5 and 6, 2022. Blake Shelton's three White male country contestants, Bryce Leatherwood, Bodie, and Brayden Lape, along with Camila Cabello's Morgan Myles, were all voted through to the finals. However, the bottom four, which included Kim Cruse, Parijita Bastola, and Omar Jose Cardona from John Legend’s team and Justin Aaron from Gwen Stefani’s team, were all people of color, as per Decider.

Cardona's stellar performance of Lady Gaga’s 'You and I', helped him secure his place back in the show. However, many viewers expressed frustration online, claiming the outcome reflected racial bias. One X user said, "#TheVoice is so f*****g white. Four white singer, some of questionable singing talent vote through by racist America. The arguably 4 best voices fighting it out for one remaining spot. Have we learned nothing in all these years?" Another user claimed, "I won’t watch anymore. Deleted from my automatic recording. This is rigged." 

While another said, "This is something the show has always done, I remind you that Blake's team left out people of color who were more talented than his entire team." Another pointed out, "This program is not picking people with the voice, they just picking only the white people, not talent. These people never make it anywhere. I will not watch it again." 

Meanwhile, a netizen commented, "Yeah no I’m done. Wtf is THIS?? You see what I see?" One person noted, "This is something the show has always done, I remind you that Blake's team left out people of color who were more talented than his entire team." One fan chimed in, saying, "Unfortunately, this is how the music industry is and always will be if change isn’t made. black artists don’t get a quarter of the success, and accolades than their mediocre, washed up white counter parts. fck the voice for having a bias towards skin colour instead of real talent. They prefer clout over talent."

In 2014, the Daily Mail reported that the New York Daily News obtained a 32-page 'The Voice' contract revealing startling behind-the-scenes details. According to the document, producers reserve the right to ignore public votes, change rules at any time, or eliminate contestants "in the event of problems." However, NBC and the show's producers denied vote manipulation, insisting the clauses are purely "precautionary," as per Soap Bolavip. The contract also reveals that contestants undergo intense psychological and medical evaluations and agree to potentially have those results aired. Additionally, they must consent to being portrayed in ways that might be "negative or false," making them vulnerable to "ridicule and humiliation."