The positive and uplifting Kelly Clarkson Show may not be all that it seems.
When the show was first announced by NBC in 2019, it was somewhat surprising because it replaced The Steve Harvey Show, which had been the No. 1 daytime talk show on television, a title that Kelly Clarkson can presently boast of having with her hit show. Now, however, that daytime talk show of hers is surprising for different reasons.
Several anonymous employees sum up their experience by saying that, amongst other things, working on the show is “traumatizing” due to the “toxic environment.”
Rolling Stone published the story today, but said they reached out to NBC and waited for days before moving forward with it in order to give the network proper time to defend themselves. NBC, however, ultimately decided not to comment. The core of the complaints from employees mostly originates from producer Alex Duda, with most employees adding that Clarkson, who was honored last year on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is mostly likely ignorant to the workplace issues.
“I think Alex Duda is a monster,” one employee declared, while explaining that another producer she knows told her not to take the job because working with Alex Duda would likely be problematic. The employee also claims that there is extreme favoritism in the workplace.
Some former employees also expressed frustration, mostly because there have apparently not been changes of any kind despite numerous HR complaints. One such staffer claims that the job “deteriorated my mental health,” and caused her to quit while another claims that she had to take a leave of absence for the same reason.
Producers bullied employees, according to multiple staffers, resulting in one employee with significant experience in the entertainment industry to see a psychiatrist because they “truly couldn’t handle it.” That employee claimed it to be “by far the worst experience I’ve ever had in my entire life.”
“I don’t know what HR does, frankly,” another former employee stated after explaining that multiple workers, including herself, utilized their exit interviews to explain the issues and pointed out two producers who were the biggest problems. However, NBC reacted by promoting both producers (neither of whom were named in the story).
Yet another employee claims they left the show after being bullied, and that a production manager had anger issues to such a degree that they constantly threw temper tantrums, including an incident in which they threw a stapler across the office out of frustration.
Most of the workers point out that Kelly Clarkson herself is great to work with, but they rarely are able to work with her, and that they would genuinely be shocked if she was aware of the way the staff is being treated.
Safe to say, she will be aware now.
UPDATE: Entertainment Weekly reached out to NBC Universal about this story and received a response through a spokesperson.
Here is NBC Universal’s statement:
“We are committed to a safe and respectful work environment and take workplace complaints very seriously, and to insinuate otherwise is untrue. When issues are reported they are promptly reviewed, investigated, and acted upon as appropriate. The Kelly Clarkson Show strives to build a safe, respectful, and equitable workplace that nurtures a culture of inclusivity and creativity.”
We will further update you if there are any responses from the show or from Kelly Clarkson herself.