Brandon Blackstock reportedly overcharged Kelly Clarkson millions of dollars when he was her music manager.
A California labor commissioner recently ruled that Blackstock, 46, owes Clarkson, 41, $2,641,374 in commissions, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ. Per the docs, Blackstock secured his then-wife a range of opportunities, including being a coach on The Voice, hosting the Billboard Music Awards and brand deals with the likes of Norwegian Cruise Line and Wayfair. Managers are not typically permitted to secure their clients’ new jobs as that is the role of talent agents.
Blackstock reportedly collected a fee for booking Clarkson’s gigs, which TMZ claimed totaled more than the musician’s salary for each appearance. Neither Clarkson nor Blackstock have addressed the legal battle, with the manager apparently planning to appeal the decision.
Clarkson married Blackstock in 2013 before they went on to welcome two kids together: River Rose, 9, and Remington, 7. (Blackstock also had two older children from a previous relationship.) Us Weekly confirmed in June 2020 that Clarkson filed for divorce after seven years of marriage.
Their divorce was finalized two years later after a messy back-and-forth legal battle. Blackstock had crusaded to transfer ownership of Clarkson’s Montana property, where he was living. They also battled for custody of River Rose and Remington. Clarkson retained ownership of the Montana residence and Blackstock was ordered to leave the property in June 2022. She also received primary custody of the kids with her ex-husband getting monthly visitations.
Clarkson agreed to pay Blackstock a one-time sum of $1.3 million and $115,00 per month in spousal support until January 2024.
By March 2022, a source exclusively told Us that Clarkson and Blackstock had “come a long way” in their dynamic.
“She has a great coparenting relationship with Brandan, but things haven’t always been easy in terms of their personal relationship,” the insider explained at the time. “However, they’ve come a long way and are handling things with their kids really well.”
Clarkson, River Rose and Remington have since relocated from their home in Los Angeles to New York City, where the latest season of her Kelly Clarkson Show is underway.
“I knew I needed a fresh start and couldn’t be in L.A. I really wanted to be in Montana, but you can’t really do a show from there quite yet,” she told USA Today in October. “So I was like, ‘The only other option would probably be New York.’ … I genuinely love it, and I love that my kids love it.”
