We knew it was coming, but it was still awkward to watch Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert — well, just Blake really — get served some sass at the 2015 CMA Awards Wednesday night.
Hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood took aim at the former couple’s split during their opening monologue. “Of course, we can’t ignore the breakup that really rocked our world, the one that’s on everybody’s mind. Two people in this very room who we all know and love … Splitsville,” Underwood joked before the cameras panned to Miss Piggy and Kermit sitting in the audience.
But, Paisley couldn’t resist the callout. “On a completely unrelated topic, ‘Howdy Blake!'” he said, as Shelton and the crowd laughed. Paisley and Underwood went on to make some more jokes about Shelton, including one about Ashley Madison and FarmersOnly.com. Lambert escaped, unscathed. (After Shelton and Gwen Stefani’s relationship confirmation, she deserved to be left alone.)
On “Late Night with Seth Meyers” last week, Shelton admitted that he knew gags about his failed marriage would make the CMAs cut.
“This year’s gonna be awkward at the CMAs, speaking of jokes,” Shelton told Meyers. “Because we are … it’s such a family. Everybody there is friends. There’s gotta be one about me and Miranda.”
“We’ve had the conversations like, ‘OK, dude. I’ll sit there and let you kick me in the face a few times.’ I know it’s coming,” Shelton added of Paisley.
Paisley confirmed those conversations with Shelton, telling ABC, “I will say it’s very admirable that Blake went on ‘Seth Myers’ and said, ‘Bring it!’ So we will! He and I have had a few little conversations here and there. He’s not someone who’s concerned at all, quite honestly. It’s really refreshing.”
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