A month after Kelly Clarkson filed a cross-complaint against her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock to affirm — and possibly expand — the $2.6 million award she was granted last year by the California Labor Commission, Blackstock requested the ruling be overturned, according to People.
Per a Monday filing obtained by the outlet, Blackstock and his management firm Starstruck Management denied “each and every allegation” made by the singer, who alleged Blackstock charged her for business deals he wasn’t licensed to make.
Blackstone claimed the talk show host’s suit was outside the proper jurisdiction because she did not file a notice of appeal within 10 days after the labor commissioner’s ruling. He also claimed that because the money he garnered from alleged commissions were paid into his and Clarkson’s joint estate, any additional damages awarded to her should be reduced. The filing also alleged that Clarkson’s complaint “fails to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against Starstruck and is, therefore, barred for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”
After Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock on June 4, 2020, citing irreconcilable differences, Starstruck Entertainment, he sued Clarkson in September 2020 amid divorce proceedings. The company accused her of allegedly breaching her “oral” management contract and owing over $1.4 million in commissions.
Clarkson filed a response to the suit to the California Labor Commission in Nov. 2020 — but the dispute would fall by the wayside for the next three years. During this time, the divorce was officially finalized in March 2022 and Clarkson was ordered to pay Blackstock a one-time lump sum of over $1.3 million, $45,000 a month in child support, and $115,000 a month in spousal support until Jan. 31, 2024.
In November 2023, the California Labor Commission found that Blackstock wasn’t properly licensed when he procured Clarkson’s judging gig on NBC’s The Voice as well as contracts with Wayfair, Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL), and the Billboard Music Awards. The commission granted Clarkson $2,641,374 for commissions unlawfully collected by Blackstock on or after Oct. 20, 2019 related to those four deals.