An unexpected twist. Kelly Clarkson is being sued by her longtime management company, which is run by estranged husband Brandon Blackstock‘s father, Narvel Blackstock.
Variety reported on Tuesday, September 29, that Starstruck Management Group filed a claim against the “Miss Independent” singer, 38, alleging that she owes them $1.4 million in unpaid commissions in addition to the $1.9 million she already paid. The complaint asserts that Clarkson hasn’t paid the total commission for her work on The Kelly Clarkson Show and The Voice this year.
The Grammy winner began working with Narvel, 64, and his company in 2007, five years after her American Idol win. According to Variety, the suit against Clarkson argues that she breached her verbal contract with the management group, which was negotiated by her attorney and her business manager 13 years ago. Starstruck also claims that the “Since U Been Gone” songstress will owe at least $5.4 million to the firm by the end of 2020.
Narvel — who split from wife Reba McEntire in 2015 — introduced Clarkson to his son, 43, in 2006 when Brandon was still married to ex-wife Melissa Ashworth. Six years later, they reconnected at the Super Bowl and discovered an undeniable chemistry. The duo wed in an intimate ceremony in Tennessee in October 2013 and later welcomed daughter River, 6, and son Remington, 4. Us Weekly confirmed in June that Clarkson and the music manager called it quits after nearly seven years of marriage.
“They clashed on so many levels and being in quarantine together heightened their problems to the point of no return … so she filed for divorce,” a source told Us exclusively at the time. “Everyone thought Kelly and Brandon had the perfect marriage, but they definitely didn’t.”
Brandon responded to his estranged wife’s divorce filing in July, seeking joint legal and physical custody of their two children. He also has two kids from his previous marriage. During a candid interview with the Los Angeles Times, the “Breakaway” singer admitted that working through her split in the public eye is even more challenging with little ones in the picture.
“I am a very open person, but I’m not going to be able to be truly open about this in certain aspects because there’s kids involved,” she said on September 11. “I think that I will navigate a way in which to be open and honest about it eventually, probably via [The Kelly Clarkson Show], and it’ll probably, I’m assuming, happen organically when someone says something in conversation or something. It definitely wouldn’t be planned.”