Kelly Clarkson reportedly sued by management company owned by father-in-law
NBCUniversal/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty ImagesIf you’re a celebrity, mixing your personal life and your business arrangements can sometimes get pretty sticky. Just ask Kelly Clarkson.
Variety reports that Kelly is being sued for unpaid commissions by her longtime management company, Starstruck Management Group. The company is run by Narvel Blackstock, who’s also the father of Kelly’s soon-to-be-ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock — who is employed by the company. Awkward!
As Variety notes, the company claims Kelly owes them more than a million bucks in back commissions from her work on The Voice and The Kelly Clarkson Show. According to the suit, the company, which has managed Kelly for 13 years, is supposed to get 15% of her gross earnings. While she’s already paid them just under $2 million this year, they say she’s $1.4 million in arrears.
Variety also reports that the suit claims Kelly will owe them at least $5.4 million by year’s end.
Complicating things may be that Kelly and the company don’t have a written agreement: The suit claims their deal was negotiated verbally in 2007, and then verbally confirmed by Kelly.
Claiming that Starstruck “developed Clarkson into a mega superstar,” the complaint alleges that, “Despite Starstruck’s hard work and dedication, Clarkson has decided she is going to stop paying Starstruck for what is contractually owed.” It’s suing for breach of oral contract.
By Andrea Dresdale
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