Kelly Clarkson claims her ex-husband/former manager told her she wasn’t hot enough to appear as a judge on “The Voice”.
via: Page Six
The “American Idol” alum, 41, said in court documents obtained by The Post Tuesday that she told the talent manager, 47, for years that she wanted to star on the NBC singing competition show, but he informed her that network executives were “looking for a more sex symbol type.”
Blackstock also allegedly told Clarkson that NBC wanted “someone sexy” like Rihanna over his then-wife.
The “Kelly Clarkson Show” host made the bombshell claim last year to a California labor commissioner, who ultimately ordered Blackstock to pay Clarkson $2.6 million for unlawfully procuring deals that should have been handled by her agents.
Despite her then-husband’s purported comments, Clarkson was named a coach on “The Voice” Season 14 in 2018.
The “Since U Been Gone” singer also told the labor commissioner that Blackstock allegedly said NBC “had to have someone that was black” and that she was “too similar” to another one of his clients, Blake Shelton, who was already a coach on the series.
When Clarkson’s lawyer, Ed McPherson, asked how she was able to recall the conversation, the pop star replied, “Well, a wife doesn’t forget a time she gets told she’s not a sex symbol, so that stays.”
Blackstock apparently told NBC execs in 2017 that they should sign Clarkson for “The Voice” otherwise she would join their rival show, “American Idol.”
He claimed that year that two music agents from Creative Artists Agency had advised him to pressure NBC by telling top brass that Clarkson was already in talks with ABC about becoming a judge on the show that kick-started her career in 2002.
Blackstock allegedly blocked Clarkson’s CAA agents from joining the negotiation conversations with NBC, and she did not even know there was a deal on the table from “The Voice” until after he received an offer.
Clarkson told the court that Blackstock “mentioned that he got ‘The Voice’ for her multiple times” and “he was proud of it.” She also testified that she was initially unaware CAA only received 5 percent instead of the standard 10 percent agents commission fee because Blackstock allegedly took the rest of the money for himself.
“In fairness to Mr. Blackstock, I stayed out of the money part,” Clarkson said. “I never was a part of the business conversations. I was always a part of creative. But no, that’s the first time I heard about any of that.”
Her attorney said there was no proof CAA agents were present during negotiations and that Blackstock had brokered the deal “unlawfully” because he is not a licensed agent.
“Mr. Blackstock’s story, particularly with respect to ‘The Voice,’ changed several times during the week of the hearing, sometimes because concrete proof of contrary facts were shown, and other times for no apparent reason,” McPherson said in court documents.
“If there is one theme throughout this case, it is that Brandon Blackstock is not a credible witness, on almost every issue.”
The California labor commissioner agreed and ruled in November that Blackstock had overcharged Clarkson by $2,641,374 when he booked her “The Voice” deal as well as her TV appearances for Norwegian Cruise Lines, Wayfair and the Billboard Music Awards.
Blackstock, who has since filed an appeal on the decision, has not publicly responded to Clarkson’s claims.
