After seeing her recent video promotion, Gwen Stefani’s fans and followers seemed perplexed about what happened to the No Doubt singer.
Gwen, also a coach on NBC’s The Voice Season 26, shared that she’s officially partnered with the Hallow app.
The free-to-download Catholic meditation and prayer app features meditations, Bible stories, Christian music, and more.
Gwen shared a video of herself speaking about the partnership and mentioning that people could use it for their Advent and Christmas journeys.
However, her fans and followers had mixed reactions to her partnership and promotion, with some suggesting there is “no way this is real.”
Others wondered about Gwen possibly being “hacked” or “brainwashed” after seeing her video advertisement.
Gwen reveals partnership with Hallow app amid holiday season
In her video, Gwen had a modest look, as she wore a seasonal outfit, with a red, white, and green plaid dress featuring striped ribbons extending from the sleeves.
“Christmas season has always been my favorite time of the year. It’s the season that we get to celebrate the birth of our lord. This year, I’m excited to share that I’ve partnered with this amazing prayer, meditation, and music app called Hallow,” she said.
Gwen indicated her partnership arrived as part of the Hallow app’s Advent Pray25, a 25-day prayer challenge leading up to Christmas.
“Join me and millions of other Christians around the world as we celebrate together the truth that God so loved the world that he gave us his only son,” Gwen said.
To close her promotional video, she said, “Download Hallow and join me in praying every day. God bless. “
Her Instagram video post’s caption hashtags included “#prayer,” “#christmas,” and “#hallowpartner.”
Fans called out Gwen for her latest promotion
Gwen rose to fame as a co-founder and lead singer for No Doubt in the 1990s and beyond. She eventually took her music solo, achieving success with several albums and popular songs, including the No. 1 hit Hollaback Girl.
Based on her earlier music career, many comments questioned her latest Instagram post promoting the Hallow app.
“WTF. What happened to the cool Gwen Stefani??? You look and sound like a Fox News host,” a commenter wrote.
Another advised her, “Girl change your password – I think you’ve been hacked!”
“Blink if your husband is making you do this Gwen. Either that or this is AI,” a commenter said, with another commenting, “Not this brainwashed.”
A commenter asked, “What happened to the Gwen I grew up loving because this isn’t her?”
Another person called Gwen a “sellout,” as the app is free to download but includes “in-app purchases.”
According to The U.S. Sun, a social media commenter asked, “There’s no way this is real right?”
While many blasted the singer and The Voice coach, others supported or defended her right to practice, express, and promote religion.
Commenters said, “so proud of you Gwen, for proclaiming your faith” and “I love how confident Gwen is about her music, her faith, her family, her love.”
Gwen was raised as ‘a Catholic good girl’ and inspired Blake
A 2008 Vogue article included Gwen’s comments about her religious background, saying she “grew up, like, a Catholic good girl.”
“The scene that I grew up in with female artists like Bikini Kill and Hole and all these more punk-rock girls, I always had the pressure of ‘You’ve got to be a feminist and you’ve got to hate guys. And you’ve got to cuss and be tough.’ And I was never like that,” Gwen told Vogue.
Gwen’s husband, Blake Shelton, has released popular songs with religious themes, including God’s Country and Savior’s Shadow.
He previously said Gwen helped him find God, suggesting God brought her into his life when they met on NBC’s The Voice.
“The biggest part of that is just how (Gwen) came into my life and now our relationship. It’s just too weird. If you take God out of it, it doesn’t make sense. If you put God into it, everything that’s happened with us makes sense,” he said, per The Tennessean.
A 2019 ET Online report indicated there were rumors that Gwen’s Roman Catholic faith caused a delay in their wedding due to the Catholic Church not allowing remarriage after a divorce unless that previous marriage got annulled.
The outlet reported a source said, “Religion is very important to Gwen, and Blake has been so respectful of that.”
They married in 2021 and seem happy together. They’ve recorded several duets, including 2020’s Nobody But You, which references God.