Ryan Gallagher‘s abrupt departure from The Voice last week was allegedly the result of the opera singer violating the show’s COVID-19 protocols; however, Ryan and his manager claim there is “more to the story here.”
Ryan’s personal manager, Michael Catalano, told People that in his opinion, NBC and MGM‘s claims that the singer violated the show’s COVID protocols could not be “further from the truth.” Michael argued that his client “understands all too well how serious the COVID-19 pandemic is in this country and around the world,” citing Ryan’s mother, who was hospitalized with COVID and spent three weeks in the ICU.
“It was a scary time for Ryan and his family and he certainly would not knowingly put anyone at risk by not adhering to the show’s COVID-19 policy,” Michael said.
Ryan opened up about his mother’s COVID battle this season on ‘The Voice’ prior to his Battle Round performance, revealing at the time that his mother had recently been released from the ICU. Shortly after he was forced to leave the show, Ryan took to Instagram to assure his fans that his family was fine and a family emergency was not the cause for his early exit.
In response to Michael and Ryan’s comments, NBC and MGM shared a statement claiming there was in fact a breach in the show’s protocols.
“Ryan is a talented artist, however ‘The Voice’ has strict COVID protocols in place to secure a safe set for our crew, coaches and contestants,” the statement read. “We were made aware of a breach in those protocols and after examining the situation and out of abundance of caution, we determined that Ryan could not participate in our Monday night show without potentially putting others at risk. Therefore, we made the difficult decision to remove Ryan from the competition.”
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Still, Michael claimed there “is more to the story here than the show has announced and at an appropriate time and place of our choosing Ryan will respond to these damaging allegations.”
“Ryan, whose performing career began at age 15 as a backup singer for Josh Groban in Michigan, has been devastated by the show’s dismissal,” he continued. “A career as a singer/performer has been his life-long dream.”
Over the weekend, Ryan shared on Instagram a video of himself performing a Christmas song, telling his followers that music is the only thing that transports him to a better place.
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“It’s been a weird/stressful week,” he continued. “I am grateful to each and every one of you for your continued support and love throughout this new development.”
Ryan encouraged his fans to “standby for more facts,” presumably about his forced departure.
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(Photos: NBC; Instagram)
Old news. And why isn’t he just coming right out and saying WHY he was booted?