Kelly Clarkson Show Accused Of Being Run By A Monster, Staffers Traumatized
Anonymous staffers at The Kelly Clarkson Show report that working conditions are traumatizing due to producers, though not the host herself.
Is Kelly Clarkson the new Ellen DeGeneres? No, but her producers might be. Rolling Stone recently published a report from 11 current and former employees of the American Idol winner, claiming that the working conditions behind the scenes of The Kelly Clarkson Show were just as traumatizing as those on the Ellen set.
The main difference between the two allegedly toxic daytime shows, however, is that while the bulk of the allegations against the Ellen show was directed at the dance-happy host, none of the anonymous staff members that talked to Rolling Stone had any animosity towards Kelly Clarkson herself whatsoever. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the producers employed by the successful talk show.
Several of the whistleblowers put the majority of the blame on showrunner Alex Duda.“I think Alex Duda’s a monster,” one employee said bluntly. The employee went on to explain that a friend in the business told them not to take the job on The Kelly Clarkson Show because of Duda’s reputation for creating problematic work environments.
“This job deteriorated my mental health,” said one former employee who recalled quitting after one of Duda’s producers screamed and hurled obscenities at them multiple times onstage. The ex-staff member claimed they developed such bad anxiety from the horrible way they were treated on The Kelly Clarkson Show that it would cause them to vomit and exhibit other physical signs of sickness.
“I remember going up on the roof of the stage to cry, being like, ‘Oh, my gosh, what am I doing? Why am I putting myself through this?’” said a former employee. A different employee confessed that working on the show became so stressful they had to take a leave of absence because their mental health was suffering so badly. The employee says that the constant bullying and intimidation from Kelly Clarkson Show producers led to them taking a month-long sabbatical from the show in order to see a psychiatrist for the first time in their life.
“I truly couldn’t handle it mentally.” the employee said.
As if being mentally scarred by the toxic environment behind the scenes of The Kelly Clarkson Show wasn’t enough, employees also claim they’re overworked and underpaid. Some of the lower-level staff members are allegedly making so little that they have to supplement their main jobs with side gigs like babysitting or Uber Eats just to pay their bills.
Many of the employees Rolling Stone talked to admitted they tried bringing their grievances to HR but got little to no results. One employee remembers being told by an HR representative that the producers on the Kelly Clarkson Show were indeed acting unprofessionally, but rather than receiving any kind of punishment, several problematic producers were instead promoted.
“I don’t know what HR does at that show, frankly,” the former employee said.
Kelly Clarkson seemed to confirm her employees’ suspicions about being kept in the dark about the onset of abuse when she posted a statement on Instagram last week addressing the accusations. The host wrote that in the two decades, she’s been in the entertainment industry, she has always led with her heart and done what she believed was right. “I love my team at the Kelly Clarkson Show,” the singer wrote before adding that discovering that any member of her staff was feeling “unheard” or “disrespected” was unacceptable.
Clarkson reaffirmed her commitment to creating and maintaining a “safe and healthy environment” on the Kelly Clarkson Show set and to ensuring her team consists of “the best and kindest in the business.”
