Kelly Clarkson is looking for a fresh start when it comes to both her personal and work life.
For those who don’t know, NBC revealed earlier this month that The Kelly Clarkson Show would be moving production from Los Angeles to New York City. The 41-year-old singer had not addressed the move yet — well, until now. In an interview for Nancy O’Dell on TalkShopLive on Thursday, Kelly revealed part of the reason she made this decision to head to the Big Apple was that she and her two children – 8-year-old daughter River and 7-year-old son Remington – needed a change in their lives:
“I love this question because I haven’t actually been able to talk about this a lot. I even talked to my crew back in January … I was like, ‘You guys’ — and it was through tears, cuz I have built such an amazing group of people. Obviously, we’ve been very successful, and I love everybody I work with, and we have such great relationships. So I talked to them because I was like, ‘Guys I need you to know what’s happening.’ It’s either I’m not going to be able to continue with the show, or I got to go East Coast.”
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The Breakaway artist further explained that she felt “isolated” since she was far away from the rest of her family during the coronavirus pandemic:
“Covid pointed out [that] being isolated and so far from your family [is] not good for anyone. And my family is East Coast — they’re North Carolina-based. So it was one of those things where I just had to — also there was a lot of personal things going on, too.”
One of those issues most likely included her nasty breakup with her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock. After battling it out in court over their settlement and a child custody agreement, the two finalized their divorce in March of 2022. The American Idol alum was forced to pay the 46-year-old $45,600 a month for child support and $115,000 for spousal support. Oof. It’s no wonder she’s moving to be near her loved ones after going through this messy ordeal without them close by!
Then, there’s also the matter of her eponymous show being accused of being a toxic workplace behind the scenes. Rolling Stone dropped a report earlier this month in which several former and current employees claimed producers “overworked” and “underpaid” the crew – to the point where “working at the show was traumatizing to their mental health.” Awful. No one should have to work in an environment like that.
Addressing the accusations again, Kelly noted in the interview that things are still being worked out both personally and professionally with the daytime show. But she shared that another big reason for the move to NYC is she doesn’t want to work in an environment that “isn’t healthy and fun” for everyone:
“I’m getting too old to work in an environment that isn’t healthy and fun. I had to do that for years in meetings and working with really incredibly mean people sometimes, so I just didn’t want to do that anymore. I’m focused wholly on the talk show for a minute, but I also am working on things in the background.”
When Kelly first acknowledged the toxic workplace claims, she told fans on Instagram that she was making sure her team moving to NYC and those already living in the city “was comprised of the best and kindest in the business.” One way she planned to ensure this was to implement “leadership training for all of the senior staff, including myself.”
Hopefully, whatever work she’s doing behind the scenes actually brings some meaningful and positive change for her employees. Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments below.
[Image via The Kelly Clarkson Show/YouTube]
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