The Voice UK Apologizes After Requesting Free Cakes from Local Bakery
An independent bakery owner described the request for free cakes from The Voice UK as a "kick in the teeth" and a "total disgrace."
The production company behind the television show The Voice UK has apologized after requesting free cakes from a Manchester-based independent bakery, Get Baked. The bakery's owner, Rich Myers, shared an email on Instagram detailing the request, which sought cakes for the show's guests, judges, and contestants.
In the email, staff from Lifted Entertainment, the company that produces The Voice UK for ITV, stated they were unable to offer monetary compensation for the cakes. Instead, they suggested the bakery would benefit from exposure to "highly influential" coaches, presenters, and contestants. The request was for products to be supplied for talent dressing rooms and green rooms during filming.
Myers, 37, expressed his dismay, calling the request a "total disgrace" and a "kick in the teeth." He criticized large companies for asking small businesses to provide products in exchange for alleged "exposure," stating that such requests were "abysmal."
"Honestly, how did we get here?" Myers wrote on Instagram. "Stop whatever this is because I wanna get off."
Lifted Entertainment issued an apology, acknowledging the incident and assuring that "steps had been taken to ensure this type of request is never made again." The company's production bakery is located in Leeds.