When Blake Shelton opens his mouth to sing, millions listen in rapt attention. But when his fingers get to tweeting, not everyone appreciates it.
The country-music star and musical coach on NBC's new hit "The Voice" has gone into apology mode, after invoking the ire of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and others over a Twitter entry.
The skirmish began on Wednesday night, when Shelton tweaked the lyrics of Shania Twain's "Any Man of Mine."
Whereas the original lyrics to the song read, "Any man of mine better walk the line/Better show me a teasin', squeezin', pleasin' kinda time," Shelton tweeted, "Re-writing my fav Shania Twain song.. Any man that tries Touching my behind He's gonna be a beaten, bleedin', heaving kind of guy …"
The "Hillbillly Bone" singer's seeming threat to savagely pummel any man who made a pass at him didn't sit well with GLAAD, who deemed the tweet unacceptable and demanded that he apologize.
That's exactly what Shelton did on Thursday morning, once again turning to his Twitter account in order to issue a digital mea culpa.
"Hey y'all allow me to seriously apologize for the misunderstanding with the whole re-write on the Shania song last night," Shelton wrote. "It honestly wasn't even meant that way … I now know that their [sic] are people out there waiting to jump at everything I say on here or anywhere. But when it comes to gay/lesbian rights or just feelings … I love everybody. So go look for a real villain and leave me out of it!!!"
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An anonymous friend of the singer's, meanwhile, told Us Weekly that Shelton meant no harm with the original tweet, saying, "Blake is so not a homophobe. He really meant that from the perspective on Shania — it was just meant to be a jibe about someone grabbing her *ss. He feels awful."
Shelton wrapped up his apology by tweeting, "@glaad hey I want my fans and @nbcthevoice fans to know that anti-gay and lesbian violence is unacceptable!!!!! Help me!!!! And DM [direct message] me…"
Shelton's act of contrition was enough to satisfy GLAAD, whose president, Jarrett Barrios, said in a statement, "Blake Shelton took the right step in speaking out against anti-gay violence and sending an important message to his fans and viewers of 'The Voice.'"
A representative for Shelton did not immediately respond to TheWrap's request for comment.