(NewsNation) — When Kelly Clarkson mysteriously missed 10 consecutive tapings of her show last month, fans were baffled.
I reported she was “overwhelmed,” and rumors circulated she wanted to quit her show.
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The mystery deepened even more after Clarkson returned to taping the show, citing “personal reasons” as to why she was out, but refused to address said reasons publicly.
But I can now reveal what insiders are saying happened.
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Kelly Clarkson’s ex, Brandon Blackstock, reportedly sick: source
”Her ex-husband is sick and she took the kids to see him,” one person in the know told me.
Clarkson’s ex, Brandon Blackstock, was a music manager (including hers) until recent years when he stopped working for Starstruck Entertainment, the company his father, Norvill Blackstock, founded.
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 12: (L-R) Brandon Blackstock and Kelly Clarkson attend the 25th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on January 12, 2020 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
While Clarkson and Blackstock had a protracted divorce battle, which turned into a nasty business battle (he was Clarkson’s manager and an executive producer of her eponymous show for some years), “He is still the children’s father,” my source said.
The former couple share a daughter, River Rose, 10, and son, Remington Alexander, 9. But things have not always been so copasetic between the two.
Kelly Clarkson’s and Brandon Blackstock’s divorce
After Clarkson filed for divorce on June 4, 2020, there was a protracted, two-year custody and spousal support battle that ended in 2022.
Clarkson, according to Entertainment Tonight, “retained the couple’s highly contested Montana ranch in the settlement, as well as ownership of the family pets, several cars, including a Ford Bronco, a Ford F-250, and a Porsche Cayenne. She was also ordered to pay Blackstock $1.3 million and contribute $45,000 per month in child support for their two children. Additionally, Blackstock was granted $115,000 per month in spousal support, set to conclude in January 2024.”
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But while the divorce was over, one year later, Clarkson sued Blackstock for violating California labor laws.
Clarkson stressed that he and Starstruck Entertainment broke the Talent Agencies Act by acting as an “unlicensed talent agency”, and in 2023, a California labor commissioner found Blackstock guilty of improper management and ordered him to reimburse his ex-wife $2,641,374 for past commissions.
Since then Clarkson has taken several shots at Blackstock, including, according to Entertainment Tonight, revising the lyrics of Gayle’s “ABCDEFU,” in July 2023, and singing, “F**k you and your dad and the fact that you got half / And my broken heart, turn that s**t into art / F**k you, and your view from the valley I bought too / Everybody but your dogs, you can all f**k off!”
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When I called Starstruck, a woman answering the phones screamed, “We are not commenting on that!” And hung up on me. A call to Norvill Blackstock and Brandon’s lawyer Bryan Freedman were not returned and multiple emails and calls to Clarkson’s rep Melissa Kates or NBC reps, Kelly Kimball or Jen Geisser were not returned.
Our best goes out to Brandon and Kelly.
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