Did Adam Levine Leave ‘The Voice’ Because of Backlash for Playing for Favorites?

Adam Levine is officially exiting The Voice, and fans have a theory about why he quit the NBC reality series.

One of the most prevalent thoughts about the Maroon 5 frontman’s exit was that it had something to do with recent backlash directed at him. Many in the show’s fanbase criticized Levine for “playing favorites” among his team, leading to some unfair situations.

Many cited Levine’s recent support for Reagan Strange as one of the reasons fans soured on him, possibly provided a motive for him to depart The Voice.

However, a source speaking with Us Weekly straight-up denied those suggestions. Plus, a second source backed up reports that Levine had many other reasons to exit.

“Adam’s decision was a difficult one for him. It had nothing to do with backlash,” the first alleged “insider” told the outlet.

The second sourced added, “Things have been very tense between the judges and everything regarding Upfronts was demonstrative of this. It was his choice to go but no one was begging him to stay.”

This is all falls in line with a report from TVLine that said Levine was frustrations with a recent rule change that directly led to none of his contestants making it into the finals. Despite losing out on this season, he still had to be present during tapings, which he did not appreciate.

“The Maroon 5 frontman expressed frustration beforehand at having to be present when, at that point, he had no artists left in the Season 16 race,” TVLine’s Michael Ausiello wrote. “And he did not hide his frustration. One eyewitness tells TVLine that Levine was ‘very difficult’ during the entire taping, refusing opportunities to offer commentary to the other judges’ performers.”

Things came to a head when Levine appeared during NBC’s Upfronts presentation, which is designed to woo advertisers to spend money on the network’s programs. Levine was apparently not energetic during the event, rubbing NBC producers the wrong way.

Levine has not specifically commented on these reports, but he did note in a statement that “it was time to move on.”

Levine will be replaced by Gwen Stefani on the next season of The Voice.

Photo Credit: Trae Patton / NBC