Since Brandon Blackstock has been gone?
Kelly Clarkson may be able to breathe again, but it now sounds like the beloved singer is also able to see clearly for the first time in a long time.
And what she sees in front of her is a crook.
Six months after filing for divorce from Brandon Blackstock, Clarkson has filed legal documents that allege her estranged husband and his dad Narvel Blackstock’s management company defrauded her out of millions of dollars.
Yikes, right?!?
According to these official papers, the first-ever American Idol winner says that her agreement with the management company was a “fraudulent and subterfuge device” that allowed her managers to perform “illegal services” as agents.
For example?
Kelly claims the company defrauded her by charging her outlandish fees during her time with the team.
Along with this assertion, Clarkson says Brandon wasn't legally permitted to operate as a talent agent because he never obtained a license.
As a result, the Grammy-winning artist wants to recoup all the money she paid to the company during her 13 years in which they acted as her agent.
And we're talking about a buttload of money here.
We don't have an exact figure at this time, but Clarkson has been one of the most successful and one of the highest-earning singers of the past decade or so.
The commissions she paid to her management team during this period must be well into the seven or eight figures.
On the flip side, Clarkson was sued by Brandon's company in September, Starstruck Management, claiming she actually owed the company $1.4 mil in commissions.
The superstar then countersued in response, claiming Starstruck had violated the California Labor Code.
Said an attorney for the company to TMZ:
"It is unfortunate that Kelly is again attempting to avoid paying commissions that are due and owing to Starstruck to try and achieve some perceived advantage in her ongoing custody and divorce proceedings.”
Clarkson and Blackstock were married for seven years.
The Voice coach bragged about her sex life with her husband mere months before their divorce announcement.
“I mean, it’s no secret. My life has been a little bit of a dumpster,” the singer said in September during an interview on Sunday Today With Willie Geist, addding at the time:
“Personally, it’s been a little hard the last couple months.”
During this exchange, she didn't bring up all the ways that her personal life had collided with her professional life in the ways described and alleged above.
Two months later, the talk show host was awarded primary custody of her and Brandon’s two kids, River, 6, and Remington, 4.
The estranged couple will share joint physical and legal custody of the children, with Clarkson having primary physical custody in Los Angeles.
Brandon is also father of daughter Savannah, 18, and son Seth, 13, from his previous marriage to Melissa Ashworth.
OK! Magazine broke the news of Clarkson's latest lawsuit.
This unfortunate story is developing...