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‘Rubbish’: Voice coaches turn on Guy Sebastian amid backstage row

The nasty blow-up between Voice coaches Guy Sebastian and Kelly Rowland continued last night - and fans seemed firmly on Rowland’s side.

Nick BondNick Bond
@bondnickbond
4 min read
June 23, 2020 - 7:23AM
Kelly storms off the set of The Voice

Voice coaches Guy Sebastian and Kelly Rowland’s fiery clash continued on Monday night’s episode of the show, with the aftermath of Rowland’s dramatic walk-off shown to viewers.

And many viewers sided with Rowland after the fight had played out, labelling Sebastian “rude” and “disrespectful” to one of his one contestants.

Rowland had walked off set in the closing moments of Sunday night’s episode after a disagreement with Sebastian about two of his contestants.

Guy chose arguably this season’s most distinctive contestant, Mongolian throat singer Bukhu Ganburged, to take on teammate Johnny Manuel for a battle round performance. Rowland felt the pairing was unfair to Bukhu, given his specific skill, and seemed designed to showcase Johnny talents.

Sebastian labelled her “disrespectful” as she stormed off set.

Monday’s episode picked up right where their fight left off, with coach Delta Goodrem defending the Destiny’s Child star.

“I don’t think it’s fair to say Kelly’s disrespectful – she’s allowed to say what she feels out here. That’s not fair,” she told Sebastian.

Fellow coach Boy George tried to ease the tension, offering that he had walked off set last season: “Sometimes you just need to take a break.”

Goodrem wasn’t having it. “No, she doesn’t need a break! She’s said what she needs to say, and that’s fair,” she said, leaving the stage to check on Rowland.

Kelly Rowland argues with a producer after walking off set.
Kelly Rowland argues with a producer after walking off set.

Back on stage, Voice host Darren McMullen appeared unsure whether he should continue with the show, while Sebastian took a moment to apologise to his two performers. “You guys were part of a great moment. The crowd were standing on their feet enjoying two gifted musos. I’m sorry it’s turned to this,” he said.

Backstage, Rowland told Goodrem that she was prepared to “just let it go. My feelings ain’t hurt, but this s**t is redundant.”

As the pair returned to their seats, it was time for Guy to decide which of the two performers he’d keep in his team and who he’d send home.

After heaping praise on Bukhu, he said that “it’s quite clear this show suits somebody like Johnny, so I don’t think it’ll be any surprise that I’m going to go for Johnny”.

Guy’s decision to send Bukhu home didn’t set well with some viewers:

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Guy opted to send Johnny through to the next round.
Guy opted to send Johnny through to the next round.

“I’m going to watch this back so many times, because I’m such a fan a both of you. This is why I do the show – to create moments like this.”

Bukhu was a gentleman to the end, asking the audience and coaches to give The Voice’s in-house band a standing ovation.

But the tension continued backstage after the segment, as Sebastian opened up about the “weird” confrontation to Voice presenter Renee Bargh.

“I felt like it was weird. There was no protest between these guys, they loved the idea (of performing together), they loved the collaboration … It seems like a low blow for drama,” he said, before appearing to suggest to his contestants the entire argument had been staged.

“I’m just so sorry that has to happen. It’s the thing that I struggle with so much, because I don’t even think people believe some of the things they say sometimes,” he told them.

Delta didn’t seem to happy as she listened in on Guy’s backstage chat.
Delta didn’t seem to happy as she listened in on Guy’s backstage chat.

Sebastian’s words didn’t set well with his colleagues, who could hear what he was saying from their positions onstage.

“Can you hear him? He makes it up as he goes along. ‘It’s not a battle, it’s a collaboration’ – it is a battle. This is the battle rounds,” said Boy George.

“It’s just rubbish, what he’s saying. Can you get him back, so we can get on with the show?”

Rowland didn’t mince her words when asked how she thought Guy’s battle round had played out: “I thought it was a terrible choice and I thought he was wrong,” she said.

A few seats away, Guy said he felt “weird” about the stoush. “Imagine having a mad blow-up with a workmate? I feel bruised.”

Kelly, can you handle this?
Kelly, can you handle this?

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Sebastian said on Twitter after Monday’s episode that he wished he’d handled the situation better – but also told fans there’s “a lot that people don’t see on the show,” including “mentoring and follow-up phone calls with the artists”.

“I am disappointed that I didn’t just cop it on the chin and bring focus back to the artists,” he wrote.

“It was a challenge having someone like Bukhu and I admit that it seemed vocally unbalanced. I wanted them both 2 shine & thought that showcasing Bukhu’s musicianship was the way 2 do it. He is exceptional and I’m sad that this went down the way it did due to my choice. It’s something that cuts me & I didn’t handle it well.”

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/rubbish-voice-coaches-turn-on-guy-sebastian-amid-backstage-row/news-story/dc5953817c18074f93203609763a18ee