‘The Voice’ Racism Accusations Fly on Twitter After Semi-Final Episode
Published Dec. 7 2022, 12:41 p.m. ET
Warning: Spoilers ahead for the semi-final episode of Season 22 of The Voice.
On Dec. 6, 2022, fans of The Voice were on the edge of their seats waiting to find out who among the top eight contestants would make it to the finale. Of course, as avid viewers of the NBC reality singing competition know, the four artists who received the most votes from fans would make it through. Then, the remaining four performers would be singing for the Instant Save.
When the highly anticipated results were revealed, the contestants left to sing for the Instant Save had Twitter users cringing and accusing The Voice of racism. Read on to find out who had to battle it out for the fifth spot in the finale, and why some fans felt the show needs to do better as a result.
‘The Voice’ racism accusations started when it was revealed who had been voted through to the finale — and who had not.
As The Voice coaches Blake Shelton, John Legend, Gwen Stefani, and Camila Cabello looked on, the four semi-finalists who were automatically voted through to the final episode were revealed by host Carson Daly. America watched as well as the four white contestants, Bodie, Brayden Lape, Bryce Leatherwood, and Morgan Myles, sailed to safety.
On the opposite side of the stage stood the four singers who would need to sing for the Instant Save: Omar Jose Cardona, Parijita Bastola, Kim Cruse, and Justin Aaron, all people of color. The uncomfortable moment didn’t go unnoticed by Twitter users, who promptly took the show and its viewers to task for how things were playing out.
Ultimately, Omar, Parijita, Kim, and Justin each sang their hearts out in an effort to join Bodie, Brayden, Bryce, and Morgan in the finale.
The artist who made it was — drumroll please — Omar, who performed “You and I” by Lady Gaga. He was voted through on the show’s app by viewers, and looked visibly upset to leave the other artists behind.
‘The Voice’ eliminated three people of color in the Season 22 finale, but that’s not the whole story.
Although social media was sure to call out producers and viewers of The Voice given the results of the semi-finals, it’s important to note that several past winners of The Voice are people of color, including Season 1 winner Javier Colon, Season 12’s Chris Blue, and most recently, Cam Anthony from Season 20. He has gone on to sign with Universal Music Group and is releasing singles, per Screen Rant.
Of course, to be fair, many white singers have also become winners on The Voice. One of the most well-known is Danielle Bradbury, who's become a successful country music artist following her win in Season 4.
In the end, what went down at the semi-final of Season 22 of The Voice definitely got people upset. We'll have to wait and see how the finale plays out. As of the time of writing, the show had not responded to the controversy, nor had any of the coaches.
Catch the two-part Season 22 finale of The Voice at 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 12 and 13 on NBC.