For those who makes a point of watching daytime TV on a regular basis, The Kelly Clarkson Show is often a beacon of joy and positive vibing, though it’s unclear if that positivity will extend beyond her current contract’s expiration in 2026. Some of her public comments point to an eventual talk show exit, which has reportedly put some of her staffers on high alert, since their futures may also get upturned once she leaves.
Right around the time when Clarkson was gearing up for the 1,000th episode of her fan-favorite series, she was notably absent for several installments, with other celebs filling in as guest host, sparking rumors about problems behind the scenes. Then, a few weeks after she missed additional eps in April without explanation, the American Idol vet went on stage during one of her concerts and essentially blamed the talk show for keeping her from live performances.
In the aftermath, according to DailyMail, some staffers took offense to her speaking ill of the show in any capacity, with one unidentified source saying:
I cringed when I heard her comments. It's just not a good look, you know? You don't want the person whose name is on the show to be trashing the show. Some things just need to be family business. I know that Kelly is worried that she has lost the respect of her team.
One show producer reportedly shared comments about Clarkson missing episodes in March and April, which reportedly tied into her ex Brandon Blackstock suffering an illness, and said the worry is that the Grammy winner can "bolt at any time." Of course, leaving before her contract expires would likely create a financial headache, so that will likely only happen under the most dire circumstances.
To be sure, the show employee says that others behind the scenes feel for the host as she deals with stress and struggles in her own life, but that the sympathy may not remain so strong if Clarkson continues to speak ill of the show on stage and in other circumstances. As the staffer put it:
I don't know that it's that black and white. There's nuance there. Everyone understands that she's gone through some things, and we're all very sympathetic. But if she wants to keep our goodwill, she needs to not trash the show, and give us plenty of notice if she decides to bail. That would be the decent thing to do.
Though it may sound like Clarkson would walk out of the door without a second look, it's also reported that one of the big issues holding her back is the understanding that The Kelly Clarkson Show employs around 100 people whose jobs. And that many of (or all of) those jobs would all be endangered if she would decide to leave. Said the staffer:
She's made it very clear that she doesn't want her decisions to affect all of our livelihoods... but it's a bit late for that now. I get that she's conflicted, but when she says things publicly, it makes the public feel like she doesn't want to be here. And if she doesn't want to be here, why should they tune in?
For now at least, fans do seem quite keen on continuing to tune in each day to see who Clarkson is talking to and what songs she'll be performing. Now if only she could figure out a way to record talk show episodes while on tour...
Kelly Clarkson recently returned to her former stomping ground The Voice for its most recent season finale, and will soon kick off the first leg of her Las Vegas residency, which will run from July 4 through August 16, with the second leg running from November 7-15.
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