The good-natured teasing between coaches that's driven The Voice all along hasn't dipped this season despite the absences of Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson. The rapport in Season 24 between Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani, John Legend and Niall Horan makes for compelling television. However, soundbites and pull quotes from when Stefani gets called "mean," for example, can easily be taken out of context.
Videos by Wide Open Country
That disconnect has fueled rumors that McEntire's unhappy on the show, amongst the rumors that she has had plastic surgery.
"Reba came on board with high hopes and the best intentions but she's sick of it already," a source told The National Enquirer (as quoted by RadarOnline). "She realizes they're all phonies and she's had to get sneaky just to be heard— and that's not her style."
"She's demanding a whole lot more respect or she'll throw their contract in their faces and hightail it back to Nashville," a National Enquirer source added. "What's happening around her on The Voice just confirms what a snakepit Hollywood is. Reba is just a simple country gal at heart."
While the competitiveness of the ongoing blind auditions surely takes some getting used to for a first-time coach like McEntire, her opinions on the show during press appearances to promote the series as well as her new book and album leave no hints that she takes her co-stars' banter to heart.
"It's fun rivalry, but we have the best time on that show," McEntire told Extra, adding that while she initially did find Stefani intimidating, they quickly became friends.
McEntire got called "ruthless" after using her lone block on Legend during Brandon Montel's audition, but it, too, came across as tongue-in-cheek.
"We've been unceremoniously prevented from working together by the Queen over here," Legend told Montel, referencing McEntire's block. "Most of the time she's a benevolent Queen, but every once in a while she'll do some ruthless, cold-blooded, dirty things."
