Kelly Clarkson’s marriage to Brandon Blackstock fell apart in 2020, at the height of the pandemic. They genuinely had relationship issues, but the bigger component was that Kelly figured out that Brandon is a huge fraud and as her manager, he defrauded her out of millions of dollars. When they filed for divorce, Brandon made outrageous demands for spousal support, all while Clarkson began the slow process of removing herself from his management and grift. They finally settled their divorce in March 2022 and she only had to give him a fraction of what he wanted, plus her prenup was validated, plus there was a strict limit imposed on spousal support. Clarkson continued to try to reclaim some of the money he stole from her during their marriage, and she won a significant victory this week:

Kelly Clarkson continues her winning streak in her divorce from Brandon Blackstock … this round a labor commissioner ruled Brandon had overcharged her by millions when he represented Kelly as her manager.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a California labor commissioner ruled Brandon crossed the line as a manager when he booked gigs and inked deals for Kelly on “The Voice,” Norwegian Cruise Line, Wayfair, and as host of the Billboard Music Awards. Aside from a few exceptions, only agents — not managers — can lawfully secure roles for talent.

Apparently, Brandon collects fees for booking the gigs, and the labor commissioner ordered Brandon to fork over those commissions to his former wife … totaling $2,641,374. BTW … fun fact — Brandon scored $1.98 million for commissions from her role on “The Voice.” By contrast, he only got $93.30 in commission for Kelly hosting the Billboard Music Awards.

Brandon says he’ll appeal the ruling. One bright spot for him … Kelly also wanted the money Brandon got for scoring her the gig on her talk show, “The Kelly Clarkson Show.” The labor commissioner begged to differ, so Brandon keeps whatever he got on that one.

Kelly filed for divorce back in 2020 after 7 years of marriage. The divorce was final in March 2022. She got the hotly-contested Montana ranch in the settlement. Kelly had to pay Brandon $1.3 million and is on the hook for $45k a month in child support for their 2 kids, ages 9 and 7. Brandon also gets $115,000 a month in spousal support, but that ends in January 2024.

Kelly, repped by her attorney Ed McPherson, got the family pets, multiple cars including a Ford Bronco, a Ford F-250, and a Porsche Cayenne, as well as a flight simulator.

[From TMZ]

You know how crazy it is that Kelly has to pursue this through the California labor commission??? This is not your average divorce, nor is this your average fraud case. What are the lessons here? Clarkson has said previously that she ignored so many red flags for years, so that’s one lesson – don’t ignore those red flags, especially when it comes to your finances. Also, don’t marry your manager unless you have legally protected yourself and your business. Holy sh-t.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.