Staff members behind the scenes at “The Kelly Clarkson Show” are feeling awful about contributing to and believing widespread rumors about Kelly Clarkson’s future while she was secretly dealing with a family crisis.
On November 12, 2025, The Daily Mail spoke with a source at the “American Idol” alum’s popular talk show who said members of the staff there “feel like [expletive]” now that they know what was really going on. Clarkson, 43, missed 10 days of filming during the last season of her NBC talk show while she quietly dealt with her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock’s cancer battle.
Blackstock died in early August, one day after Clarkson abruptly canceled the remainder of her Las Vegas residency to help her young kids navigate losing their dad.
Insider at ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ Says Staffers Were Preparing to Bolt
NBCPrior to Blackstock’s death, rumors had run rampant about Clarkson becoming distant and unmotivated on her talk show, and considering leaving the staff in the dust. So, many started planning to leave first.
“We were seeing speculation in the media that Kelly was going to quit and be replaced by Hoda Kotb,” a staffer told the Daily Mail. “So we were all looking for other jobs. We forwarded job postings to each other, networked for each other. A lot of people were ready to bolt. No disrespect to Hoda, but we didn’t know what was happening or if there would even be a job for us.”
When Clarkson missed shows and the staff had to scramble to find guest hosts like Brooke Shields and Josh Groban, they were told the singer was dealing with a “family emergency,” but nothing else.
When she was in the office, the staffer told the Daily Mail, “It was just such a difference from how she had been before. It was hard for people to not take it personally. Like what did we do to suddenly be ignored like this?”
Kelly Clarkson’s Show Staffer Says They ‘Judged Kelly Too Soon’
Rumors about what was going on with Clarkson swirled in the media — and at the office — for months. But once it became clear what she had been hiding from the public, the staffer who spoke to the Daily Mail said, “Suddenly, it was all clear to everyone, and boy, did we feel like [expletive].”
“We judged Kelly too soon,” the insider continued. “We didn’t see what she was going through. We made it all about us. It just goes to show that you should never jump to conclusions. You just never know.”
Although Clarkson and Blackstock divorced in 2022, they shared two children — daughter River Rose, 11, and nine-year-old son Remington Alexander — who are now without their father. She has not discussed the family’s loss publicly, but seems to be finding her way again, appearing as a coach on season 29 of “The Voice” and finding joy again on the set of her talk show.
“She’s so much more talkative again,” the Daily Mail’s source said. “She’ll stop by our desks and make conversation, ask about family members, gossip and make jokes. It’s like the old Kelly is back again. She has been dearly missed.”
