An Oklahoma judge is defending his actions in allowing country music stars Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert to keep details of their divorce private.
Attorneys and others had criticized Pottawatomie County Associate District Judge John Gardner after he sealed the musicians' entire divorce file, The Oklahoman newspaper reported. Gardner, who's retiring this week, made public a protective order on Tuesday explaining his July 6 decision.
He said allowing the case to be public would have greatly compromised the personal and financial privacy of both parties, noting that matters in the case would have garnered "significant publicity" that most others wouldn't.