Blake Shelton has come under fire for what fans are calling “tone deaf” lyrics in his new song ‘Minimum Wage’.
After Shelton debuted the unreleased track on an NBC New Year’s Eve TV special, viewers were quick to point out its insensitive lyrics
The song, dedicated to Shelton’s fiancé Gwen Stefani, includes lines like “Girl, your love can make a man feel rich on minimum wage,” and, “Girl, your love is money, your love is money.”
Considering the coronavirus pandemic has left millions unemployed or struggling financially, it’s no surprise that people appear to be less than impressed with the track.
One Twitter user argued that the lyrics highlighted the fact “that rich people have absolutely no f–king clue.”
Another person wrote, “Does anyone else find Blake Shelton’s ‘Minimum Wage’ song to be incredibly tone deaf to our country’s current state?”
A Twitter account called @PatrioticMills went as far as urging Shelton to advocate for raising the minimum wage in the US.
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“Hey @blakeshelton, you’re worth $100 million. It’s a bad look to sing about feeling rich on the minimum wage when actual minimum wage workers are hungry and can’t pay rent,” they wrote.
“How about you join us in fighting to #RaiseTheWage to $15 per hour?”
In light of the backlash, some Twitter users also defended Shelton, with one user writing that they are sure he has had a minimum wage job “at some point in his life.”
“I haven’t heard the song but I’m sure he can remember what being broke vs being in love feels like… Also, maybe he didn’t write it, even if so, let’s not stress about a song,” they said.
Blake Shelton himself has yet to address the anguish over ‘Minimum Wage’.