Former husband and wife Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert had different takes on the issue concerning country music artist Garth Brooks. Lambert criticized Brooks for lip syncing, while Shelton defended the country singer. Lambert, together with her boyfriend and musician Anderson East, slammed Brooks for his decision. 

It began when Brooks admitted of lip syncing during his performance at the Country Music Association Awards. After his performance of "Ask Me How I Know," Brooks admitted to reporters that he decided to lip sync because he lost his voice after consecutive live performances.

East then posted a photo on Instagram indicating his disappointment toward the decision of Brooks. East wrote, "this truly offends me. I was told country music is three chords and the truth." Lambert then added friction to the issue by commenting, "High five on this babe, if you can't sing then don't. it's better to be honest than to pretend."

The comment section of that photo became a combat ground between Lambert and East's supporters and Brooks' followers. Several fans of Brooks pointed out that the singer wanted to sing in front of the fans rather than cancelling his performance.

During his guesting on TheEllenShow, Brooks explained his decision to lip sync. "We did 12 shows in 10 days and right in the middle of those 12 shows was CMAA. So we went in and a track for it, just in case," he said. Brooks then mentioned that it was best to perform because people travelled all the way to the event to see country music stars. He added, "What it's about are those people who put their butts in the seats, travelled, fight that traffic... and that is where you want to save your voice for."

The Voice's veteran judge and Grammy Awards winner Blake Shelton then posted a statement on Twitter in support of Brooks. Shelton tweeted, "Hey @garthbrooks... I still love you. #hero #respect." The comment section for Shelton's tweet also turned into an argument between one basher and a few Shelton supporters.