Kelly Clarkson is suing her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, again just months after winning a $2.6 million ruling against him last fall.
The complaint filed in Los Angeles on Monday accuses Blackstock and his father Narvel Balckstock’s management company, Starstruck Entertainment, of violating California labor laws — specifically the Talent Agencies Act — by acting as an “unlicensed talent agency” that booked business deals on her behalf dating back to 2007.
“Based on the wrongful acts and conduct of Starstruck … all agreements between the parties, should be declared void and unenforceable … and all monies previously paid by cross-complainants to Starstruck should be disgorged from Starstruck, forthwith,” her lawsuit, obtained by Page Six Thursday, reads.
Some of the payments made to Starstruck Entertainment, for which Clarkson is seeking reimbursement, include “commissions, fees, profits, advances, producing fees or other monies.”
Reps for Blackstock, 47, and Clarkson, 41, did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
Blackstock was found to have acted unlawfully in the November 2023 ruling, which declared he should never have had a hand in deals for “The Voice,” Norwegian Cruise Lines, Wayfair and the Billboard Music Awards.
Only talent agents, with a few exceptions, are supposed to ink employment deals for their clients under California labor laws.
While Blackstock is currently appealing the decision, he will have a weaker argument if Clarkson wins the new lawsuit, which covers 10 additional years than her former complaint.
His lawyer, Bryan Freedman, shared a statement with Rolling Stone in response to Clarkson’s latest filing.
“It is morally, ethically and legally wrong to attempt to get monies back from your ex-husband who not only helped her as her manager but who used those earnings on their children and Kelly and Brandon’s lifestyle during the marriage,” he argued.
Clarkson’s filings, however, came after Starstruck sued her in 2020 for $1.4 million in unpaid commissions for her work on “The Voice” and “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
In the suit, the company complained it “invested a great deal of time, money, energy and dedication” into the career of the “Since U Been Gone” hitmaker and claimed they developed her into “a mega superstar.”
Clarkson and Brandon have been in a legal battle since they split in 2020 after seven years of marriage.
When they finalized their divorce in 2022, Clarkson was ordered to give Blackstock a one-time payment of $1.3 million, plus $150,000 per month in spousal support and $45,601 per month in child support.
The exes share two children: daughter River, 9, and son Remington, 7.
Clarkson has been candid about how the divorce affected their kids, saying last year that she asks them every night before bed if they’re happy and how they can become happier.
“It kills me, and I want them to be honest, so I don’t ever say, ‘Oh God, don’t tell me that,’” she explained on the “Angie Martinez IRL” podcast.
“But a lot of times it would be like, ‘You know, I’m just really sad. I wish Mommy and Daddy were in the same house.’”
Source: NewsFinale
