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Blake Shelton Hilariously Recalls Befriending an Intruding Possum: ‘I Ended Up Hanging Out With Him’

Blake Shelton has a way with wild animals. And the country star and “The Voice” coach has apparently been hanging out with a wild possum who joined him for dinner one night.

On a recent appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” Shelton shared some video of his time with the possum, an uninvited guest at his place in Oklahoma.

“I was at the house in Oklahoma,” Shelton explained. “And I was just, I was there by myself, and I grilled something on the grill. And I got it out, I was letting it cool off—” and at this point, Clarkson’s show cut to a video of a gray critter with a long pink tail burying its nose in something covered in tinfoil – “and I went back to get it, and there’s this damn possum over there, look! Eating my, I actually grilled some fish.”

“I was like, ‘Hey, man!’” Shelton added. “He ate my food. I later… ended up petting it and hanging out with it.”

Clarkson’s show then aired a video of a hand, presumably Shelton’s, petting the possum as it perched on a railing.

“Look at it, he likes me!” Shelton said.

“Real quick question: Have you ever heard of rabies?” Clarkson interjected.

Blake Shelton Joins Drive to Help Struggling Musicians

The music industry, like the restaurant and hospitality industries, has been particularly hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Associated Press, Tennessee alone plays host to around 50,000 out-of-work musicians and roadies.

So the Country Music Association is stepping up to help. Earlier this month, it announced that it will provide 4 million meals in cities with large populations of music industry professionals, with help from Feeding America. The cities covered by its Music Industry COVID Support (MICS) Initiative are Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Seattle and Portland.

Shelton has reportedly been trying to boost financial support for the participating food banks. He has never been off the road for as long as he has been during the pandemic, but he has been able to keep paying his band and crew over the past year. Not every band has been so lucky.

“There are a lot of people struggling in our country, and COVID has only made that worse,” Shelton told the AP. “People are going to bed hungry at night now more than ever, and I just can’t live with that. I’ve been passionate for a long time about helping folks get the food they need.”

Nancy Keil, CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, which will benefit from the MICS Initiative, said that after the last recession, it took them 10 years to return to pre-recession levels of demand for the food bank’s services. They’re hoping this time it won’t take a decade for people to recover.