Reba & Blake Shelton Keep ACM Audience Laughing
Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton put their different but equally charming senses of humor to good use as co-hosts of the 2011 ACM Awards.
Reba has now hosted the ACMs 13 times, so everyone knew she'd get plenty of laughs for her family-friendly jokes. Blake's irreverent humor, which was underscored in humorous promotions for the ACMs, made some fret a bit prior to the live broadcast. It's been widely reported, including by CMT, that Blake tried to ease those fears by telling CBS that he wouldn't become too colorful as the host.
"I just want you to know that I take this serious. It's a big deal to me," Blake reportedly said to the executives. "And I definitely wouldn't bring Reba down with me. Making fun of Craig Morgan's toupee or whatever you would say that would upset country fans."
[Disclaimer: Craig does not, in fact, wear a toupee.]
Just to be sure, the network reportedly put a five-second delay on the show so they could "bleep" any profanity or inappropriate comments.
Even Blake's fiancee, Miranda Lambert, told People magazine that she recommended a delay.
"I told CBS, my advice for you is a three-second delay, because you never know what's going to come out of his mouth, and you might not want that on live TV," Miranda said, adding Blake was nervous about his co-hosting gig. "He's so quick and so great at ad libbing ... probably too good at ad libbing."
But really, there was nothing to worry about as Reba and Blake yucked it up, poking just enough fun at each other, themselves, and their celebrity colleagues to keep everybody laughing. Here are some of the best quips of the night:
Blake: "Eric Church has a big hit this year about 'Smoke a Little Smoke.' I heard it was about Miley Cyrus."
Reba: "Don't make jokes about Taylor Swift. If you make her mad, she'll write a song about you."
Reba then talked about how puzzled she is about the men who have ended romantic relationships with Taylor, specifically actor Jake Gyllenhaal, saying, 'What [was he] thinking anyway?" Blake's response: "Wait a minute. He was in 'Brokeback Mountain.'"
Blake: (after Reba noted that Carrie Underwood's husband, professional hockey player Mike Fisher, was traded from the Ottawa Senators to the Nashville Predators) "You know who else traded husbands this year? LeAnn Rimes."
Blake: (noting the huge size of the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas) "I bet it would take Charlie Sheen 12 years to trash every room in here." When Reba commented that she thought they had agreed to avoid Charlie Sheen jokes, Blake said, "That's not a joke."