Blake Shelton Settles InTouch Magazine Defamation Lawsuit

Summary: Blake Shelton and Intouch have settled a defamation lawsuit this week for an undisclosed sum.

Almost two years ago, Blake Shelton sang an angry tune when InTouch magazine called him a stinkin’ drunk. The tabloid claimed that his alcoholism caused his marriage to fellow country singer Miranda Lambert to fall apart, and it also said that he was so obnoxious that he peed in public. Not one to back down, Shelton sued for defamation, and this week, the magazine and he finally settled.

InTouch published a cover story saying that Shelton was headed to rehab. The September 2015 issue was splashed with the headline “Rehab for Blake” and included several stories from unnamed sources of the country star’s alleged drunken bad behavior.

In October 2015, Shelton filed a $2 million defamation lawsuit against InTouch, and he denied all of the allegations, providing a detailed point-by-point analysis of how the magazine got his life story all wrong.

“I was not in rehab in September 2015,” Shelton said in a legal document filed in 2016. “I have never been to rehab, nor have I ever considered going to rehab. I did not then, nor have I ever, hit ‘rock bottom.’ I do not drink excessively, binge drink, or have a drinking problem. I did not, as the story alleges, drink vodka before 11 a.m. I am never drunk, intoxicated or unable to perform my job on The Voice or elsewhere. I do not slur my words, or stumble when I drink. I have never urinated on a mailbox in public or otherwise. I did not start drinking at 14. I did not start drinking as a teenager. I did not start drinking to cope with my brother’s death.”

Shelton admitted to being boisterous in social settings and that his “schtick with my fans” is to be a jolly good ol’ boy; but he said that the problematic alcoholic the magazine tried to portray him as was “false.” Last year, Shelton also said he was fed up with the rumors about him and his ex-wife and would not stand for them any longer.

On Thursday, Shelton’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss their lawsuit after Shelton and InTouch came to an unspecified settlement. While the dollar amount was not disclosed, both parties agreed to pay the costs of their own litigation.

Shelton is a platinum-selling country artist with such hits as “The Baby” and “All Over Me.” He was married to fellow country star Miranda Lambert from 2011 to 2015, and she often appeared as a guest on his musical reality show The Voice, where he met his current girlfriend, pop star Gwen Stefani. Lambert and Shelton were a country music powerhouse when they were together, but they separated amidst unconfirmed cheating rumors on both sides.

According to Radar Online, Shelton and Stefani may leave NBC’s The Voice after this season because of Stefani’s feud with new host Miley Cyrus. Radar said that Shelton may go in support of his lady love, who is seven years his senior.