Country singers Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan, hosts of the 2014 Academy of Country Music Awards, took jabs at Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears on Sunday at the 49th annual award night in Las Vegas.
The duo took shots at Bieber's DUI arrest, Cyrus' controversial Video Music Awards performance with Robin Thicke, and Spears' lip syncing allegations as they kickstarted the event.
"Last year, when you heard Merle Haggard singing a song about being drunk, out of work and in jail, it sounded like Merle was signing about his younger self..." Bryan said, to which Blake replied, "This year, it sounds like he's singing about Justin Bieber."
They then went on to talk about singer Jake Owen losing a finger during a go-cart accident, and added that the lost finger was found on Cyrus' tour bus.
"It was takin' a selfie and smokin' a doobie," Bryan said referring to Cyrus' infamous foam finger that she used for her VMAs performance.
While most of the jokes went down well with the audience, the joke on Spears allegedly lip syncing her performances was a bit uncomfortable, as Spears' sister Jamie Lynn was in the crowd.
"If you don't like live music, just go down the street and see Britney Spears," Shelton said after pointing out that the night will feature some of the biggest names in the industry performing live.
The duo also attempted to take a selfie with other singers in a bid to challenge Ellen DeGeneres' Academy Awards selfie that featured Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey and others.
However, the singers could not find anyone famous enough to pose along with them, and finally decided that they were the only biggest stars at the ACMs.
While a majority of the audience loved their jokes, a section of them aren't happy with the duo dissing their favortie pop stars. Comments calling them a pair of "douchebags" have made it to Twitter, and many believed that such jabs were uncalled for.
I like Luke Bryan & Blake Shelton, but taking shots at Britney Spears & Miley Cyrus isn't smart. They are WAY bigger then yall will ever be.
— Liana Nelson (@liana_nelson) April 7, 2014
Blake Shelton & Luke Bryan are very entertaining hosting the #ACM Awards. Except for that @britneyspears comment I've been laughing out loud — PKandDK (@PKandDK) April 7, 2014
(Edited by Vanilla Sharma)
