Gwen Stefani has come under fire for her “horrible” treatment of a “terrified” kitten on The Voice this week.
The No Doubt singer, 54, received widespread backlash when she brought her tiny rescue kitten onstage at the season 26 premiere on Monday night, before holding it in the air as she addressed the studio audience.
Singer Sydney Sterlace wowed the judges with a rendition of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License,” and Stefani was then given her cat to convince Sydney to choose her as a mentor.
She said, ‘You know Sydney… A little thing happened to me.
‘This little creature came up to my porch and was barely alive and said ‘I love you, you’re my new cat’ but I don’t have a name!
Gwen Stefani has come under fire for her “horrible” treatment of a “terrified” kitten on The Voice this week.
‘So I thought maybe I could call him Sydney.
Then he raised his voice as the kitten meowed and said, “This cat’s name is Sydney!”
When Sydney picked Stefani up, she screamed “Oh my God!” as she held the squirming kitten (who looked to be around six weeks old) before holding the animal in the air while hugging her new apprentice.
She then walked off stage holding the kitten in the air with both hands, and her behavior was quickly branded “disturbing,” “horrible” and “unacceptable.”
One fan wrote: “Please never let Gwen near an animal again. The way she was lifting that tiny, scared kitten over her head was horrifying.”
Another wrote: “I love you so much but please don’t ever do that to an animal that young again. The noise, the way you held him like he was a stuffed animal dangling from your fingers, all of that would be traumatic for a kitten that young.”
Others wrote: “Please don’t bring baby animals to entertain them. It’s so sad to see that scared kitten.”
“I love you, Gwen, and I really enjoy your time on The Voice, but I wish I could help you understand how terrified that little kitten was. He was taken from his mother not that long ago and now he’s in front of all the people and noise; he’s not having a great start in life.”
The No Doubt singer, 54, received widespread backlash when she brought her tiny rescue kitten onstage at the season 26 premiere on Monday night, before holding it in the air as she addressed the studio audience.
When Sydney picked Stefani up, she screamed “Oh my God!” as she held the squirming kitten (who looked to be around six weeks old) before holding the animal in the air while hugging her new apprentice.
Stefani was called “disgusting” for bringing the animal on stage
Stefani let the little animal run around the stage.
Stefani was seen holding the kitten in the air on stage.
One fan wrote: “Please never let Gwen near an animal again. The way she was lifting that tiny, scared kitten over her head was horrifying.”
‘Gwen Stefani’s disgusting kitten publicity stunt is unacceptable’
“I didn’t have Gwen Stefani torturing a kitten on my bingo card, but here we are. Jeez, what are @nbc and The Voice thinking?”
DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Gwen Stefani and The Voice for comment.
Stefani’s ex-husband Gavin Rossdale recently spoke out about his ex following their divorce in 2016 after nearly 13 years of marriage.
She spoke candidly about her “shame” over the split.
“I never thought I would ever get divorced, so there’s just shame in my life,” the rock star began.
“I feel bad for my kids,” she continued. “I wish I could have found a way for that not to be in their lives. It was not fun for me coming from a broken home.”
He added: “It can be quite debilitating for children. The most important thing is not to let them down.”
Gavin and Gwen met romantically in the late 1990s and married in 2002.
After welcoming three children and nearly 13 years of marriage, the superstar couple announced their separation, shocking their fans. The couple officially divorced in 2016.
Since then, Gwen found love with Blake Shelton, whom she married in 2021.
