Kelly Clarkson claims ex Brandon Blackstock defrauded her out of millions
Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock’s divorce keeps getting messier. The Voice coach has kept details of their split private, but she’s accusing her estranged husband of fraud in a new lawsuit.
Clarkson filed legal docs with the California Labor Commission claiming Starstruck Entertainment, a Nashville-based talent management company owned by Brandon’s father, Narvel Blackstock, defrauded her out of millions of dollars. Clarkson has been working with Starstruck Entertainment since 2007.
In the lawsuit, Clarkson names both Brandon and Narvel, claiming they charged exorbitant fees that allowed her managers to perform “illegal services” as agents, according to documents obtained by Us Weekly. The talk show host claims that Brandon and Narvel were not licensed in the state of California to be agents. The American Idol winner wants to be paid back money she believes she’s owed over the 13 years in which they acted as her agent.
An attorney for Starstruck Management Group hit back at the lawsuit in a statement to Yahoo Entertainment.
“The labor petition conveniently ignores the fact that Kelly had her own licensed talent agency CAA at all times. While Starstruck Management Group provided talent management services on her behalf, it did so at all times that CAA was her agency of record,” Bryan Freedman said on Friday. “It is unfortunate that Kelly is again attempting to avoid paying commissions that are due and owing to Starstruck to try and achieve some perceived advantage in her ongoing custody and divorce proceedings.”
Clarkson was sued first by her father-in-law’s company in September. Starstruck Management Group claims the singer owes over $1.4 million in unpaid commissions this year, in addition to the $1.9 million she already paid. According to People, the singer allegedly had a verbal contract with the company since 2007 that she would pay them 15 percent commission on her gross earnings.
The singer was recently awarded primary custody of her and Brandon’s two children, River Rose, 6, and Remington Alexander, 4. Clarkson previously said she “definitely didn’t see” divorce coming, but has stayed quiet on exactly why they split.
“I am a very open person, but I’m not going to be able to be truly open about this in certain aspects because there’s kids involved,” she told the Los Angeles Times in September. “I think that I will navigate a way in which to be open and honest about it eventually, probably via the show, and it’ll probably, I’m assuming, happen organically when someone says something in conversation or something. It definitely wouldn’t be planned.”
Clarkson said she’s trying to protect all the children involved, including her two stepchildren.
“But my children and his older children — there are a lot of little hearts involved in this and while people feel, ‘Oh my gosh, what a loss ...’ imagine how it is in the epicenter of the storm,” she said. “It’s a lot to process and deal with, just as a family. So because it’s not just me, I probably won’t go too deep with it.”
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