The Voice winner hits back at claims that voting was rigged

The 2019 winner of The Voice Australia has responded to furious viewers’ claims that the grand finale voting was rigged.

Diana Rouvas says she took out the winner’s crown fair and square, and won’t let the critics steal her moment of glory.

“I just ignore it,” the 35-year-old tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “People are going to talk, that’s the business we’re in.”

Diana, who was on Boy George’s Team throughout the competition, says both she and her celeb coach initially struggled to grapple with the victory when host Sonia Kruger announced her name over Team Delta runner-up Daniel Shaw’s.

“I was in shock. Both George and I had a little F-bomb moment there,” she admits. “He was incredibly and genuinely happy.”

Just over 12 hours later after an eventful evening celebrating at the afterparty, Diana says she’s still pinching herself.

“i’m a bit dusty,” she confesses. “I don’t think I’ve registered it. I think I need a good sleep and then I’ll going to wake up and probably cry.”

All eyes were on Diana and Delta Goodrem’s contestant Daniel Shaw on Sunday night when they were confirmed as the final two.

After Diana was announced as the winner, it didn’t take long for a wave of backlash to roll in, with some viewers claiming a technical error could have altered the outcome the finale.

The backlash began when the official site – which viewers use to cast votes – crashed well before voting closed.

Claims of ‘rigging’ soon followed and many of the show’s fans took to Twitter to express their confusion at being unable to back their favourite.

“It's rigged I can't vote, can't get through, won't connect,” one viewer tweeted.

“How about you sort out your voting situation which had crashed?” another asked the network.

“@TheVoiceAU site won't allow voting.”

Others claimed that because voting had been open since the previous week, it could have given preference to those who performed earlier in the night.

“Given the site is down, I guess the winner will be whoever generated the most votes after their performance last week,” claimed another fan.

However, Channel Nine were quick to offer an explanation in a statement, saying the technical glitch only affected a handful of viewers.

“Hundreds of thousands of votes have been coming through during tonight's show which has caused some technical problems for a small number of viewers,” the network said.

“The technical problem has now been solved. We appreciate everybody's support for the artists and the show. Voting is still open.”

Before the final, The Voice enjoyed a blockbuster season, largely thanks to its all-star contestants and judges’ headline-grabbing antics.

Winner Diana will now take home $100,00 prize money and a lucrative record contract following the release of her winner’s single, Wait for No-One.

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