Adam Levine's 'I hate this country' remark goes live on 'The Voice'

By By Randy Lewis

May 29, 2013 | 9:50 AM

Adam Levine's 'I hate this country' remark goes live on 'The Voice' — Adam Levine, shown performing with Maroon 5 at KIIS FM's Wango Tango earlier this month, offended many viewers by muttering "I hate this country" Tuesday night on NBC-TV's "The Voice." (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

Repeat to yourself, Adam Levine: “It’s only a TV show. It’s only a TV show.”

The Maroon 5 singer and coach on NBC’s “The Voice” singing competition set viewers and the Twitterverse ablaze Tuesday night by muttering under his breath, “I hate this country” after two of his three singers were eliminated by viewers during the latest round on the show.

One of his singers, Amber Carrington, however, received enough votes to continue.

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Distressed viewers who heard the remark, which was picked up by a live microphone, posted messages on Twitter suggesting he resign from the show. Some even suggested Levine be deported, although it's unclear where he might be deported to, as he was born in Los Angeles. (Alhambra, maybe?)

Repeat to yourself America: "It's only a TV show. It's only a TV show."

Levine responded Wednesday by tweeting dictionary definitions of the words "Joke," "humorless," "light-hearted" and "misunderstand" in efforts to deflect the criticism.

Last week Levine sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a segment on her show “The Next Chapter,” scheduled to be shown June 2 on Winfrey’s OWN TV cable channel. Perhaps she’ll extend him an encore visit for the requisite mea culpa.

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Follow Randy Lewis on Twitter: @RandyLewis2