After months of contradictory rumors, it appears Reba McEntire is actually gearing up to leave The Voice.

Reba has been a fan favorite judge since she joined the reality TV competition’s panel in 2023 — but her association with the show goes further back, per a June 2023 NBC item:

“… now, [Reba McEntire is] joining the family full time as a Coach for The Voice Season 24! 

News was announced in May 2023 that McEntire will be a Coach for the 24th season of the show alongside Gwen Stefani, Niall Horan, and John Legend.”

Upon joining The Voice’s judging panel, Reba expressed her gratitude, saying:

“I’m looking forward to being here with all of y’all, you’ve treated me so nicely. I appreciate the hospitality so much that you showed me earlier. 

And to be able to come in and form my team, I’m so looking forward to it.”

McEntire’s exit from The Voice has been confusing, in large part because both the network and Reba herself repeatedly denied that she was leaving for much of 2024.

Here’s what we know about Reba leaving The Voice.

Back in February, Reba and The Voice made headlines due to persistent rumors that the country turned television star was parting ways with the show.

At that time, McEntire not only disputed a specific claim she was leaving The Voice, she also asked fans on social media to “report” articles claiming otherwise as hoaxes.

On February 25th, Reba took to Twitter to dispel the rumors, explaining:

“Please do not click on any articles that say I am leaving The Voice. This is not true.

“These are fake websites to lure people in with clickbait where they claim I have a company to sell weight loss gummy products. This is false. I do not sell or promote any type of gummy product.”

On Instagram, she shared a very similar post, with two differences — a screenshot of the content in question, and a request that the article be reported:

A ton of conflicting information about Reba McEntire leaving The Voice made it difficult to confirm her exit, and information about her future on the show appeared to originate with two consecutive NBC press releases about upcoming seasons.

On May 13th, NBC unveiled its lineup for season 26 of The Voice, confirming Reba’s return as a judge for that particular season:

“The Queen of Country herself, Reba McEntire, is returning for her third at-bat in the Coaching chair during Season 26 of The Voice. During her first season, McEntire brought in freshly cooked tater tots to share with her Team, and in Season 25, she traded in taters for chicken tenders.

“Next season [26], she might even have a personal chef at her side, popping out funnel cakes or something.”

Then, on June 5th, NBC published “The Voice Season 27 Coaches Have Been Revealed: See the Lineup!” Notably, Reba’s exit was not directly articulated.

Rather, NBC confirmed The Voice’s season 27 judges, and Reba was not listed among them:

“Season 27’s Coaches line-up has officially been revealed. The 27th season of The Voice will have a blend of classic Coaches and newcomers when John Legend, Michael Buble, Kelsea Ballerini, and Adam Levine settle into their Coach’s Chairs.”

Separately, on May 7th, Variety reported that NBC had ordered a full season of a new sitcom called Happy’s Place, starring Reba:

“NBC has given a series order to ‘Happy’s Place,’ the Reba McEntire-led pilot the network ordered in January … The multi-cam comedy will debut during the 2024-2024 broadcast season.

“‘Happy’s Place’ follows Bobbie (Reba McEntire), who inherits her father’s restaurant and is less than thrilled to discover that she has a new business partner in the half-sister (Belissa Escobedo) she never knew she had.”

On June 19th, McEntire posted about Happy’s Place on Instagram:

Reba McEntire’s exit from The Voice for season 27 roughly coincided with the announcement NBC’s Happy’s Place received a full season order — but by the same token, Reba’s new gig on the same network doesn’t rule out guest appearances or future involvement with The Voice.

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Source: CNN