Kelly Clarkson has issued a statement after allegations of her talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, having a toxic work environment came to light.
An article released on Friday (May 12) alleged that The Kelly Clarkson Show‘s crew members were “overworked” and “underpaid.” Unnamed individuals working at the show say it “was traumatizing to their mental health.”
The Kelly Clarkson Show staffers, including 1 current employee and 10 former employees, say that the host likely is unaware of what is going on behind the scenes and say that Kelly is “fantastic.”
“I would be shocked if she knew,” one former employee told the publication. “I’d be floored if she knew the staff wasn’t getting paid for two weeks of Christmas hiatus. The Kelly that I interacted with and that everyone knows would probably be pretty aghast to learn that.”
A former employee recalled, “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?'”
RELATED: KELLY CLARKSON’S EX-FATHER-IN-LAW SUES HER FOR $1.4 MILLION
Another former staffer called out the show’s executive producer who she she was warned about prior to taking the job.
“I think Alex Duda [executive produce] is a monster. I have a friend who’s an executive producer who warned me about taking this job, because apparently she has done this on every show she’s worked on.”
Kelly Clarkson responded to the allegations in a social media post, saying:
“I love my team at ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ and to find out that anyone is feeling unheard and or disrespected on this show is unacceptable. I have always been, and will continue to be, committed to creating and maintaining a safe and healthy environment a ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show,’ Clarkson wrote, adding that all members of the senior staff will undergo leadership training. “There is always room to grow and ensure we are all being/becoming the best version of ourselves in any business, especilaly when it comes to leadership, to ensure that any notion of toxicity is eradicated.”
The news comes soon after it was announced that Kelly Clarkson was moving her show from Los Angeles to New York City. An NBCUniversal rep confirmed the news to Entertainment tonight that The Kelly Clarkson Show will film at the NBC Studios in 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Studio 6A in front of a live studio audience.
Read Kelly’s full statement below.