
Kelly Clarkson is facing backlash from her own staff after revealing she's had repeated clashes with human resources over what she considers "harmless" compliments about physical appearance, sparking internal tension and raising new questions about her future at NBC's "The Kelly Clarkson Show."
During a concert at Atlantic City's Etess Arena on Saturday, the 43-year-old shared that her blunt approach has even gotten her in trouble with HR.
"Every time I go to an HR meeting, I'm like, 'How have I not been fired?'" she said. "I grew up on the road at 19 years old. I'm like, 'Oh, that is inappropriate. I would never.'"
But the "American Idol" alum didn't stop there. "They also say you're not allowed to say someone looks attractive, and I say f**k that," she told the crowd. "Because some of those b***hes are out here working, and we're trying, and I want every motherf****r that passes me to go, 'Damn. Well done.'"
@people #KellyClarkson got real about her recent #weightloss — and HR policies that prohibit calling people “attractive.” #Chemistry #KellyClarksonShow
♬ original sound - People Magazine
Staff Reportedly Feel Disrespected
Clarkson's no-holds-barred comments have been met with laughs from the audience, but sources say they have demoralized her staff — particularly those who uprooted their lives to move with her from L.A. to New York after production on The Kelly Clarkson Show shifted coasts last year.
"Kelly Clarkson is ungrateful, and she fails to recognize how her staff uprooted their lives in Los Angeles and left their homes to relocate to New York because they believed in her and they loved working for her," a source told Daily Mail.
The source added that Clarkson's recent comments have "caused heartbreak among staff," particularly after she missed several episodes in March due to what was labeled a "personal matter." Speculation has grown that Clarkson may exit the show when her contract expires next year.
Clarkson also revealed during the concert that she had been reprimanded for praising someone's weight loss. "They were like, 'Well, it might make people feel bad that they looked bad before.' I was fat before, so I'm saying I want you to say, 'Damn,'" she said.
The singer has previously spoken out about her 60-pound weight loss, which she attributed to a medication prescribed after doctors flagged blood sugar problems. "My doctor chased me for like two years," Clarkson said on her show last year. "I already have thyroid problems, I was afraid."
She added, "Everybody thinks it's Ozempic. It's not — it's something else," clarifying that the medication helps her body break down sugar more efficiently.
Read more: Kelly Clarkson Puts Her Own Spin on Billie Eilish's 'Birds of a Feather' But the Internet Is Divided
Talk Show Demands vs. Life on Tour
Clarkson has suggested that the demands of daytime TV have come at the expense of her music career. "We are bummed 'cause we love doing shows, and it's hard to fit it in, so it's cool when it does work out with the schedule."
She also mentioned her busy schedule as a single mom of two — River, 10, and Remy, 9, who she shares with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock. They divorced in 2022.
Nonetheless, according to the report, disgust at Clarkson's acknowledgment of discontented feeling is sadder if not it's left certain employees feeling "abandoned."
"For her to abandon her own show and then come out months later and say that she did not agree with the way that HR handled comments she made about weight is incredibly disrespectful," the source told Daily Mail.
NBC bosses are now allegedly in the process of lining up a replacement. One name rumored to be in the running is Today show alumnus Hoda Kotb, 60, who departed the morning show earlier this year.
"There's a long list of names and Hoda is part of that list," the insider added.
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