The Voice 2024 coach divides with 'nasty' comments: 'Not a very pleasant person'

The Voice Australia has changed things up for its 13th season, bringing in new coaches to scout for talent alongside returning coach Guy Sebastian. The Channel Seven singing competition has enlisted international stars Adam Lambert and Leann Rimes and Aussie icon Kate Miller-Heidke to help aspiring performers reach their full potential and win the $100,000 cash prize.

Although the show is only two episodes in, some viewers are already taking issue with Kate's style, with many people criticising the acclaimed singer for coming across as 'nasty'. A production insider from the show told Yahoo Lifestyle that Kate was nervous about her edit and "it does feel like she was planted to ruffle some feathers."

"I think Kate only NOW knows the role she is playing amongst the coaches after seeing this week's episodes," the insider said.

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"I am sure Kate would have liked a heads-up during the taping in Sydney earlier this year," they continued. "Surely the producer would have been creating storylines and picking up on her style of judging."

Coaches fight over Tia Barnes

Indeed, it has been Kate's approach to choosing performers for her team that has left some with a bad taste in their mouths. For example, the way that Kate fought hard for Tia Barnes whose touching backstory and incredible voice had all four coaches battling to take her under their wing. The 25-year-old Queenslander sang Ed Sheeran and Luke Combs' 'Life Goes On' - leaving everyone in tears as she revealed that her biggest supporter is her dad who is battling a rare and terminal form of brain cancer.

As the coaches began to make their cases for Tia, Kate told her "not to listen to any of the crap" they said and suggested that if she went with Adam he'd "make her do rock songs that were not suited to her at all." When Adam reminded Kate that he does more than just rock she replied: "I'm fighting hard for this one, ok?"

She then motioned dismissively toward Guy and Leann saying she wanted to get their part out of the way, before going to stand next to Tia on stage.

While the banter was likely all in good fun, her remarks rubbed some viewers the wrong way with several people taking to social media to weigh in on her attitude.

Viewers slam Kate Miller-Heidke

"I love Kate however I've noticed this evening she makes some mean comments," one person wrote. "Not sure she realises how it's coming across. I know it's being competitive however this is a bit different."

"Agree, she has really turned me off, her behaviour is really nasty," said another.

"I am disappointed in some of Kate’s comments," wrote another viewer. "She is very competitive but … the talent must say this year is really good."

"Didn't know who Kate was before and her behaviour isn't encouraging me to want to know her," was another comment.

The classically trained singer made waves yet again later in the show when she and Adam were vying for 18-year-old Ruby Lafferty from Sydney. Adam and Ruby bonded over their experiences of being bullied in their youth but finding the power in being different.

Adam Lambert and Kate Miller-Heidke clash

"Yes there is pain there, yes you've gone through that but what I loved about what I just saw was that I didn't feel all that pain when I watched you sing, I felt all that light," Adam said. "So you're taking all of that and saying, 'Eff you - I don't care, I'm going to keep and save my light and not let anyone touch it'."

Kate then added: "But light only exists in contrast to dark and what I love is this depth that you have - and to me, that song wasn't just about you shining your light, you could feel that you had transcended something - that you had fought a battle and won and that's the darkness that I'm talking about."

"You just said what I just said," Adam replied.

"But just in a better way," Kate retorted.

"Not liking Kate at all," someone wrote on social media.

"Kate M-H seems to be a bit of a sniffy brat," said a second viewer.

"I had to Google her too, not a very pleasant person," someone else said.

"Doing this show was a bad idea for Kate cause she’s coming across really badly and I’ve never had an opinion on her before," someone wrote on X.

Our source tells Yahoo Lifestyle: "If she had asked the 'reasonable friend' they might have said she was coming off a 'little pretentious' and while Kate 100% has some very serious street cred in the biz - singing reality shows can be quite a dangerous platform for established artists if they are not careful."

They continued: "Kate gets defensive and you can see that - she is taking comments from the other coaches personally, which was a pothole she could have avoided. The show is light-hearted and over the top. There was no need to be that serious."

Fans defend Kate Miller-Heidke

However, there were also plenty of fans who said they are loving Kate's addition to the lineup of coaches, with viewers praising her for her no-nonsense approach.

"Love Kate on #thevoiceau! She gives such great constructive feedback while still being genuinely warm and generous," one person said.

"How good is Kate !!!!" wrote another.

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"Kate is so good on this show," added another fan.

"She's an Aussie, guys! And she doesn't seem to put on a 'woke politically correct' facade," another fan defended. "I am actually growing more respect for her 'realness' Go Kate."

"Absolutely zero wrong with anything Kate has said," someone else argued. "She's awesome."

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