Maroon 5 frontman and judge on NBC's show "The Voice," Adam Levine was caught on live television saying, "I hate this country."
As host Carson Daly paused before revealing the second singer fans voted to keep on the show was, Levine can be heard muttering, "I hate this country," which was picked up by an overhead microphone, reported Mashable.com.
Levine's comment comes at the 1:14 mark.
Levine lost two of his strongest singers as a result of the fan's vote and took to his official Twitter feed after the show to explain that his sound bite was meant to be a joke. He did not apologize, but instead posted definitions for the words joke, humorless, lighthearted and misunderstand.
Many fans of the show, who were watching the live broadcast, tweeted directly to Levine. Some called for him to apologize for making an anti-patriotic comment and some came to his defense, calling the remark a joke, the New York Daily News reported.
Amber Carrington, of Levine's team, had just been saved by America's vote and the remaining three contestants were fellow judge Blake Shelton's team member Holly Tucker. The other two remaining singers were Judith Hill and Sarah Simmons, both members of Levine's team.
Levine, and those who supported him on Twitter, took the context into consideration because at least one of Levine's singers was going to be left out by the vote.
According to the New York Daily News, some said on Twitter that Levine should be fired from his position and some called for Levine to be deported. Those that defended him pointed out that America's vote has always seemed to favor Shelton and his team.
