Kelly Clarkson has scored a major victory in the legal battle against her former husband, according to multiple media reports Thursday.
The “Since U Been Gone” singer filed for divorce from Brandon Blackstock in 2020 after seven years together. But by that time he’d made various unlawful business deals on her behalf, according to a California labor commissioner, who last month ordered him to pay Clarkson $2,641,374.
Blackstock was Clarkson’s manager when he secured her contracts with “The Voice,” Norwegian Cruise Line, Wayfair and the Billboard Music Awards. Documents obtained by the media indicate that he made millions in commissions that were never rightfully his.
“Under the Talent Agencies Act (TAA), a manager, like any person without a talent agency license, cannot procure or attempt to procure employment for artists,” stated an excerpt of the ruling published by People, referring to a state law.
The documents showed that Blackstock earned $1,983,155.70 for a Clarkson contract with “The Voice,” as well as $208,125 for a cruise line deal, $450,000 for a Wayfair collaboration and $93.30 for a multiyear contract as Billboard Music Awards host.
Clarkson had claimed in a filing that Blackstock also profited from a contract for her talk show, but the labor commissioner ruled that this particular deal was above board. The other four, however, should have been handled by agents at the Creative Artists Agency. Blackstock has appealed the commissioner’s ruling.
Clarkson has said that she first met Blackstock at a rehearsal for the 2006 Academy of Country Music Awards, when he was a tour manager for Rascal Flatts. They became engaged in 2012 and now share two children: daughter River Rose, 9, and son Remington Alexander, 7.
After filing for divorce during the coronavirus lockdown, Clarkson was ordered in 2021 to temporarily pay Blackstock nearly $200,000 in spousal and child support each month. The divorce was settled the following year, with the Grammy winner agreeing to a one-time payment of $1.3 million as well as ongoing monthly support payments.
Clarkson recently released an album about the divorce. And during a candid interview on Angie Martinez’s “IRL” podcast in March, she shared that her children are “really honest” about how hard the split has been for them.
“I literally ask my kids every night when we’re snuggling up in the bed: ‘Are you happy? And if you’re not, what could make you happier?’” Clarkson told Martinez. “A lot of times they’ll be like: ’You know, I’m just really sad. I wish Mommy and Daddy were in the same house.”
She said that “they’re really honest about it,” adding: “I’m from a divorced family as well. It sucks.”