Kelly Clarkson Retaliates With Lawsuit Against Her Father-in-Law
Kelly Clarkson declares that she is going to fight back inside and outside the court. While the 38-year-old singer and songwriter filed a lawsuit against her father-in-law, she also effortlessly dropped a cover song on her talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show.
The singer performed a cover song from Donna Summer's studio album, She Works Hard for the Money, on her talk show's popular segment, Kellyoke. Clarkson's father-in-law, Narvel Blackstock, filed a case on the singer in September and claimed that she owes his company, Starstruck Management Group, over $1.4 million as commission.
The company revealed that she had already paid $1.9 million while other unpaid commissions for 2020 are pending. The singer decided to fight back the lawsuit after working with the management company for over 13 years.
The singer claimed in the labor petition on Oct. 20 that the company has violated the law of California Labor Code. The statement further explained that the company was involved in promising, offering, procuring, or attempting to obtain Clarkson's engagements or employment without having a talent agency license.
She further stated that all the verbal agreements and contracts in which she reportedly agreed to give away her gross earnings' 15 percent commission are declared unenforceable and void.
Following the petition, Bryan Freedman, Starstruck's attorney, told People that the singer had conveniently ignored having her own licensed talent agency. The attorney further explained that Starstruck Management Group provided all the services of talent management on behalf of Kelly Clarkson.
"It is unfortunate that Kelly is again attempting to avoid paying commissions that are due and owing to Starstruck to try and achieve some perceived advantage in her ongoing custody and divorce proceedings," Freedman continued.
The legal battle started after the singer announced getting a divorce from her husband, Brandon Blackstock. While the singer admitted that she did like to maintain silence on their split details as she doesn't want her children to get affected, it seems the case is different for her 43-year-old estranged husband.
In the other documents obtained, the singer has asked the company to suspend all the cases against her until the Labor Commission lawsuit proceedings are ongoing because if Clarkson wins the case, then other lawsuits against her will automatically become "moot."
Blackstock and Clarkson share two children together, 6-year-old daughter River Rose Blackstock and son Remington Alexander Blackstock, a 4-year-old. The divorce was filed on June 4 after completing seven years in wedlock, which was a shock for the singer's fans. Before this announcement, there was no news about the split between the couple.