Blake Shelton is facing backlash for his new song 'Minimum Wage,' which people are calling tone-deaf

• Blake Shelton debuted the music video for his new song, "Minimum Wage," during NBC's New Year's Eve televised event.
• Shelton's song is apparently about his love for his fiancée, Gwen Stefani, and includes a line in the chorus that goes: "Girl, your love can make a man feel rich on minimum wage."
• People took to Twitter to tell the celebrity to "read the room" and called the "Minimum Wage" release timing tone-deaf in light of the coronavirus pandemic's effect on American employment.
• Fans of Shelton defended him on social media, urging the artist to release the song on streaming platforms and YouTube.

Blake Shelton ended 2020 by debuting a music video for his new song, "Minimum Wage," which has sparked backlash for its lyrics and is being called insensitive.

The musician and coach on the singing competition TV show "The Voice" shared the music video for "Minimum Wage" during a virtual appearance on NBC's New Year's Eve special.

"Minimum Wage" is about Shelton's love for his fiancée, Gwen Stefani, according to country music blog Taste of Country's recount of the singer's appearance on the NBC New Year's Eve special. Shelton and Stefani, another coach on "The Voice," met while working on the TV show, started dating in 2015, and announced their engagement at the end of October 2020.

Following Shelton's "Minimum Wage" debut on the televised event, some viewers took to Twitter to share their reactions. Critics of the song urged the celebrity to "read the room." Others called out a line from the chorus: "Girl, your love can make a man feel rich on minimum wage."

—Ally Wharton (@ally_wharton) January 1, 2021

"A mega-millionaire romanticizing minimum wage is peak 2020," one user wrote of Shelton's song in a tweet on New Year's Eve.

—Kyle Kramer (@KYLE0REN) January 1, 2021

—chandler smith (@cyranodebuffalo) January 1, 2021

Other viewers said they understood Shelton's sentiment with the lyrics of "Minimum Wage" but criticized its debut amid the coronavirus pandemic and its lasting effects on the American economy and unemployment.

—Angela Gordon Holtz (@Angieholtz1972) January 2, 2021

Several fans of Shelton's new song spoke out on Twitter in his defense, tweeting at the singer to release the song on streaming platforms and YouTube.

Representatives for Warner Music Nashville, Shelton's music label, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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