Kelly Clarkson is shutting down rumors that there’s something in the water between her and Carrie Underwood.
The original American Idol winner, 41, was asked about Underwood, 40, during her Tuesday, June 27, appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen — and she quickly denied having any bad blood.
“I think I know where you’re going with this,” she interjected before the fan calling in could finish their question. “People always pit us together and we don’t even know each other well enough to be pitted against [each other].”
Clarkson asserted that she’s only “ran into” the “Cowboy Casanova” singer “a handful of times” over the years, adding, “There’s no beef between us. There’s nothing between us. We don’t know each other.”
As the viewer continued, Clarkson realized the question had nothing to do with a possible feud. “Look, everyone always asks me the ‘pitted against each other’ question,” she said after jokingly walking toward Andy Cohen‘s clubhouse bar. “I don’t know why they do that. They don’t do that with dudes.”
The Voice coach was instead asked what it was like to have Underwood as a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show back in December 2020. “It was awesome,” she gushed. “It was great to have her on the show.”
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Underwood’s appearance on the daytime show took place via Zoom. “I’d love to have her there in person,” Clarkson added.
Both the “Breakaway” singer and the country artist got their starts on Idol. Clarkson was the inaugural champion in 2002, while Underwood was crowned during season 4 in 2005.
Despite the supposed competition between them in the industry, the twosome previously supported one another via Twitter in 2018. “I think we’re both winning in life and pretty blessed! Singers, mamas, CEO’s,” the Texas native wrote in response to a poll asking fans whether they were “Team Kelly Clarkson” or “Team Carrie Underwood.”
Clarkson added: “#AmbitiousBlondes go ahead @carrieunderwood 🎤.”
The “Before He Cheats” singer replied with an equally positive message. “Whatever, girl, I voted for you! 😘,” she wrote, adding that she wished people could “just celebrate women’s success without pitting them against each other.”
Clarkson continued to reflect on her Idol experience on WWHL, hinting that some celebs weren’t too kind in the wake of her 2002 victory. While she refused to identify the A-listers by name, she teased, “I will say, a lot of them ended up on shows like the one I’m from. It’s funny what money does.”
When asked whether she could name an Idol winner from the past five years, Clarkson’s face went blank. “Oh s–t. … No, I don’t know,” she confessed.
Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen airs on Bravo Sundays through Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET.
