Blake Shelton has a NSFW message for former 'Voice' coach Adam Levine

Blake Shelton is gearing up for a fight when his love Gwen Stefani joins season 17 of "The Voice" next year – and he's ready to duke it out with his former co-coach Adam Levine. Jokingly, of course.

Shelton joked about Levine's departure earlier this year from "The Voice" in a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, also speaking about his girlfriend Stefani returning to the show to replace Levine.

"Adam's not on the show and I want him to know that he can still kiss my (expletive) wherever he is right now," Shelton joked, before saying he "couldn't be happier" that Stefani signed onto the show.

That being said, he made it clear that he and Stefani still planned to play to win, separately.

"You know, she wants to win and I want to win and that's what they pay us to do on this show is to try to win the show," he said. "It's harder for (Gwen). She's not, she's not competitive. She'll be the first to tell you right up until it gets competitive and then all of a sudden she is."

More: 'The Voice': Gwen Stefani and boyfriend Blake Shelton are not fighting fair in her return

Stefani seemed plenty competitive in a preview for the new season that aired last month, telling Shelton, "You wanna fight, Blakey?"

"I'm very excited to see America's favorite couple fight it out," reigning "Voice" champ John Legend adds.

Levine announced in May that he would be leaving "The Voice" after 16 seasons, with Stefani having previously served as a coach on Seasons 7, 9 and 12.

Host Carson Daly reported the news, saying, "Of course many viewers will miss watching his frenemy relationship with Blake Shelton. He'll always be a cherished member of 'The Voice' family, and of course we wish him nothing but the best."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blake Shelton has a message for Adam Levine leaving 'The Voice'