Blake Shelton Responds to Fan Outcry Over His and Gwen Stefani’s AMAs Performance Controversy

Blake Shelton has something to say about fans calling out his and Gwen Stefani’s pre-taped segments from the 2025 American Music Awards. Award show attendees took to social media to make it known that the couple were not physically present during the live broadcast of the show.

“Just now seeing these stories about Gwen and I pretaping our performances for the AMA’s,” Blake wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) May 27, the day after the show aired. “We came and performed when the show asked us to.. Really nothing else to say.”

Shelton performed his song “Stay Country or Die Tryin’” while Stefani hit the stage with a medley of her singles “Sweet Escape” and “Hollaback Girl” to commemorate the 20th anniversary of her 2005 AMA win. Those in attendance were irritated to see them perform from a screen, versus the actual stage.

“The craziest part of the AMAS last night was being told ‘and here’s Blake Shelton live’ only for them to light up the stage like he’s there and never saying to us it was prerecorded,” one TikTok user shared via a post showcasing the view from their seat. “THEN, doing the same thing with Gwen Stefani!”

Another user compared it to the way shows were handled during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a video on TikTok, the user alleged that the audience “was confused” by the production choice, writing in the caption that “it was giving 2020 remote awards show vibes.”

Whether other performances were pre-recorded is unknown. TV Insider notes it’s possible that pre-recordings were necessary to allow costume changes and stage set changes in between performances as there was only one stage at the arena the show was held. If that were the case, it would have been nearly impossible to fit all performances in one evening. Neither Shelton nor Stefani addressed the potential stage overlap.