Kelly Clarkson Faces Serious Accusations About Her Talk Show (& We're Having Ellen Flashbacks)
Former staff members of "The Kelly Clarkson Show" made some disturbing allegations about the on-set work environment. Back in 2018, the pop icon expanded her media empire when she announced her daytime talk show on NBC. "My show is going to be a little different than anything that's on because I'm still touring," Clarkson told Jimmy Fallon on "The Tonight Show." "So it's one of those things where my band is on the road with me, or they're on the show with me doing stuff." Since its premiere in 2019, Clarkson's show and its wildly popular Kellyoke segment has become a major hit, earning 13 Daytime Emmy awards, including the award for "Outstanding Talk Show Entertainment" and "Entertainment Talk Show Host."
While the show's feel-good on-air content has cultivated a dedicated following, the work environment behind the scenes is reportedly not as carefree. In a recent and shocking exposé, former employees of the daytime hit have revealed that "The Kelly Clarkson Show" is home to a toxic work environment, similar to that of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." From accusations of "bullying and intimidation," to the producers' mishandling of race-related topics and questions, the group of former staffers held nothing back.
Former employees break silence on the show's toxic work environment
According to a scathing exposé from Rolling Stone, 10 former employees and one current staffer accused the show of creating a "toxic work environment." One of the anonymous individuals said, "I remember going up on the roof of the stage to cry, being like, 'Oh, my gosh... why am I putting myself through this.'" Some staffers also claimed there were two culprits behind the stressful and "traumatizing" environment, including the show's executive producer Alex Duda. "I think Alex Duda's a monster. I have a friend who's an executive producer who warned me about taking this job because apparently, she has done this every show she's worked on," a former employee revealed. Another individual also claimed Duda would "yell and curse at them multiple times" onstage, resulting in their mental health "deteriorating."
In regards to the show's HR department, one former staffer said they did little to reprimand Duda or another unnamed production manager, who was accused of "cursing" and "raising his voice" at employees. Despite the toxic work environment accusations, one former employee assured the publication that Kelly Clarkson has "no clue about how unhappy her staff is" — which was attributed to Duda shielding the singer from the toxicity. "Kelly is fantastic. She is a person who never treats anyone with anything but dignity and is incredibly appreciative," one person said.
And Clarkson's reaction seemingly proves this truth, as she took to Instagram to assure fans that these revelations are "unacceptable," and that the staff will undergo "leadership training" to "ensure that any notion of toxicity is eradicated."