Kelly Clarkson Claims Ex-Husband Told Her She Wasn’t ‘Sexy’ Enough to Be on ‘The Voice’

Kelly Clarkson claimed that her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock had told her that she wasn’t “sexy” enough to be cast on The Voice in court documents. The talk show host, 41, said that she’d spoken to her then-husband and talent manager, 47, about her goals to join the show, and he had told her that she wasn’t the right fit for what NBC was searching for.

The court documents had Kelly claiming that Brandon had told her that producers for The Voice were “looking for a more sex symbol type,” per Page Six. He had allegedly said the people on the show were looking for “someone sexy” and used Rihanna as an example. The manager had also said that NBC “had to have someone that was Black,” and he also said that she was too similar to fellow Voice coach Blake Shelton, who was also his client.

When asked by her lawyer how she remembered the conversation, Kelly responded, “Well, a wife doesn’t forget a time she gets told she’s not a sex symbol, so that stays.” Of course, the singer did join as a coach on The Voice in 2018. At other points in the court documents, details about the money that Brandon took for eventually helping procure the deal were revealed.

Kelly was married to Brandon from 2013 until she filed for divorce in 2020. Their divorce was finalized in 2022. After their split, the talk show host filed a lawsuit against her ex-husband for commissions paid to him for procuring deals as her manager. In November, he was ordered to pay $2.6 million to his ex-wife, but he’s filed an appeal.

Over the summer, the “Stronger” singer opened up about how she had begun going to therapy, which she called a “turning point,” while she was still married in an interview with ET Canada. “I actually started when I was married, you know, obviously having difficulties and… not just about the relationships, just in general, I’d never really done regular therapy or anything like that,” she said. “Usually, honestly, writing is therapeutic for me and I have a really great group of friends, so I feel like I have a good, you know, listening party and like to bounce things off of thoughts and feelings or whatever.”