'Barmageddon' Star Blake Shelton's TikTok Gets Flagged For 'Sensitive Content'

Blake Shelton’s recent post on TikTok perplexed fans when it was slapped with a sensitive content warning. 

Last week, the country singer and star of the upcoming USA Network series “Barmageddon” posted a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the music video for his 2021 song “Come Back As A Country Boy,” showing how some of the special effects for the video came to be. 

The screen was split into two parts. On top is the music video as it appears for the world to see. On the bottom in black and white is a behind-the-scenes look at how they made some of the visuals happen as well as what it looked like for Shelton before things like flames were added around him. 

While the video seems innocuous, many users who keep up with Shelton on TikTok were shocked to see the country crooner’s typically family-friendly account brand slapped with a “Sensitive Content” warning by the platform. For those unfamiliar, this means that before anyone can watch the video on TikTok, they must opt to click past a warning badge letting users know that “some people my find this video disturbing.”

It’s unclear why TikTok put a content warning on the video. However, many in the comments speculate that it has something to do with Shelton being engulfed in flames as he sings the lyrics and bursts out of what looks like a bonfire. Obviously, as the behind-the-scenes video shows, Shelton was never close to any real fire and the effect was done through computer-generated images. 

Still, the site’s community guidelines note that it takes measures to warn users of graphic content or “content that can cause discomfort, shock or disgust to viewers.” It also has rules against dangerous stunts that Shelton’s video may be triggering. The platform says that it does not allow content that depicts “dangerous games, dares, challenges, or stunts that might lead to injury or property damage.” 

The app has been tightening up its community guidelines over the years as it rises in popularity among creators and celebrities like Shelton. In 2020 it began using “sensitive content” warnings on individual videos, according to Engadget. A year later, it beefed up that policy with new warnings to searches that might push results that some viewers may not find suitable. For example, someone looking for a fun Halloween costume may search “scary makeup” only to be met with realistic-looking and gory makeup of a wound for a movie shoot or play. 

"Barmageddon" premieres later this year on USA Network.