Kelly Clarkson’s then-husband allegedly told the Grammy award-winning singer that she didn’t have enough sex appeal to be a coach on “The Voice” — and that NBC executives instead wanted “someone sexy” like Rihanna.
Clarkson, 41, made the claim last year to a California labor commissioner, who ultimately ruled in the singer’s favor and ordered her current and former manager, Brandon Blackstock, 47, to pay her $2.6 million to illegally obtain offers that should have been managed by his talent agent.
The “Since You’ve Been Gone” singer testified that she told Blackstock for years that she wanted to be on “The Voice” but she advised network executives that she wasn’t interested because they were “looking for more of a sex symbol type” like Rihanna, according to court documents seen by The Post.
Clarkson eventually joined the show as a coach in 2018, the talent competition’s 14th season.
The singer also testified that her now-ex-husband allegedly told NBC she “had to have someone who’s black. … They have to have different things” and that she and singer Blake Shelton — who was already a coach on the show — “were too similar.”
When asked by her lawyer Ed McPherson how she was able to remember that particular conversation, Clarkson replied, “Well, a wife doesn’t forget the time she was told she wasn’t a sex symbol, so that’s permanent.”
Kelly Clarkson says she was told by her then-manager and husband that she wasn’t hot enough to coach “The Voice.” Trae Patton/NBC via Getty Images Brandon Blackstock and Kelly Clarkson arrive at the 25th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., in January 2020, just months before he filed for divorce. WireImage
Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock in June 2020 after nearly seven years of marriage.
The former couple finally finalized their divorce in March 2022, after a bitter dispute over custody of their 9-year-old daughter, River Rose, their 7-year-old son, Remington “Remy” Alexander, and their shared Montana farm.
Before the marriage imploded, Blackstock reached out to NBC executives in May 2017 with an offer and information they couldn’t refuse: sign Clarkson on “The Voice” or risk losing her on their flagship competition “American Idol.”
Blackstock testified that he was coached in 2017 by two music agents from Creative Artists Agency to pressure NBC executives and tell them Clarkson was already in talks with ABC to be a judge on “American Idol,” where Clarkson first gained fame.
Happier times: The couple arrive at the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. WireImage
Blackstock testified that he and two CAA music agents — Darryl Eaton and Rick Roskin — were on the lot of NBCUniversal Studios in Hollywood where “The Voice” was taped in May 2017 to meet with then-former NBC Entertainment Chairman Paul Telegdy.
Blackstock said agents told him he’d better approach Telegdy than them because the NBC executive allegedly didn’t like dealing with agents.
“Critically and consistently with their negotiating strategy, Blackstock informed Telegdy that American Idol would be making an offer to Clarkson,” wrote Blackstock’s attorneys, Bryan Freedman and Jesse Kaplan, in court documents seen by The Post.
“In response, Telegdy asked Blackstock, ‘What does it take [to sign Clarkson to ‘The Voice]?’ “
Rihanna is allegedly being considered to be a coach on “The Voice” because NBC wants someone as sexy as her. Getty Images
Blackstock told Telegdy that it would be “somewhere around Blake [Shelton] money.”
Blackstock, who also manages Shelton, had access to the country singer’s contract for “The Voice,” according to court documents.
Blackstock claims Telegdy made a multimillion-dollar offer after the second call and said, “Will that do it?” to which Blackstock replied yes.
“Shortly thereafter, Blackstock called Clarkson to break the news,” Blackstock’s attorney wrote. “Clarkson is very excited.”
NBCUniversal cut ties with Telegdy in August 2020 after a Hollywood Reporter investigation revealed allegations that the former entertainment chairman engaged in racist, sexist and racist behavior. Telegdy has denied any wrongdoing.
The former NBCUniversal executive did not testify in the labor board hearing involving Clarkson and Blackstock and its management company.
(From left) Meredith Ahr, president of the Alternative & Reality Group for NBC Entertainment, Paul Telegdy, former chairman of NBC Entertainment, and actress Amy Poehler appear together during the NBCUniversal press tour Jan. 11, 2020. NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Although Eaton and Roskin were not called to testify before the California labor commissioner, Cat Carson — a veteran CAA agent who exclusively deals with alternative TV programming — testified that she asked repeatedly to be involved with Clarkson’s contract negotiations for “The Voice” but was blocked by Blackstock.
“I repeatedly asked from the early stages of ‘The Voice’ auditions that I wanted to be on, and Brandon said he wanted to do a solo, and this is the same example, he wanted to talk to Paul live, and he wanted to talk to Lee Straus [then-NBC business affairs executive vice president of NBC’s alternative programming] live,” Carson testified.
She added she didn’t tell Blackstock that CAA didn’t want her to call the NBC executive because “he’s my client’s husband, and I think that’s what the client wants.”
Carson also testified it was unusual for Roskin and Eaton, who usually deal with music tours, to be involved with television deals because that was his job and expertise as Clarkson’s agent.
(From left) Chance the Rapper, Niall Horan, Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton promote the “blind audition” episode of “The Voice.” Evans Vestal Ward/NBC via Getty Images Kelly Clarkson and her husband Brandon Blackstock pose with family at the STX Films World Premiere Of “UglyDolls” in Los Angeles in April 2019. WireImage
Meanwhile, the singer testified that he did not know there was an offer from “The Voice” until his ex became a broker himself.
Clarkson testified Blackstock “mentioned that he got ‘The Voice’ for her a few times” and “she was proud of it.” He also testified that he was not aware until the trial that CAA was only receiving 5% instead of the standard 10% agent commission fee because Blackstock allegedly pocketed the rest of the money.
“In fairness to Mr Blackstock, I’m not involved in the money part,” Clarkson said on the stand. “I’ve never been part of the business conversation. I’ve always been part of the creative. But no, that’s the first time I’ve heard of that.”
McPherson said in court documents that Blackstock repeatedly lied on the stand and that CAA agents did not enlist the former manager’s help in brokering any deals for Clarkson.
The lawyer claims there is no record that Eaton and Roskin were on the NBC lot the day Blackstock had the phone conversation with the NBC executive.
Clarkson hosts the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony in November in Manhattan. Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
McPherson said regardless of whether Blackstock was “trained” by CAA’s music agent, he brokered “The Voice” deals and other business deals for his ex-wife illegally because he was not a licensed agent.
“Mr. Blackstock’s story, particularly with regard to ‘The Voice,’ changed several times throughout the week of the trial, sometimes because concrete evidence to the contrary was presented, and other times for no apparent reason,” McPherson wrote in court documents.
“If there is one theme throughout this case, it’s that Brandon Blackstock is not a credible witness, on almost every issue.”
California’s labor commissioner agreed and ruled in November that Blackstock overcharged his ex-wife by $2,641,374 when she illegally booked not only “The Voice” deals, but also her TV appearances for Norwegian Cruise Lines, Wayfair and the Billboard Music Awards.
Blackstock has filed an appeal of the decision.
The Post has reached out to both Clarkson and Blackstock’s lawyers for comment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
