In March, Kelly Clarkson Took An Extended And Unexpected Break From Her Talk Show – And Now We Know The Potential Reason Why
Kelly Clarkson was unexpectedly absent from her Emmy Award-winning talk show on March 3rd. Actor Simu Liu stepped in to host at the last minute. He was booked as a guest to promote his new movie that day, but they asked him to step in as host instead.
He said, “Kelly isn’t able to make it today. We’re sending her our very best. I did not know that I was doing this until about five minutes ago when I arrived to promote my new movie, Last Breath.”
Luckily, Liu has some hosting experience, even guest-hosting the show three years prior!
Clarkson returned for the March 4th show, but didn’t give a reason for her absence. Two days later, she was gone again, this time for 9 tapings, making her total of missed shows come out to 10.
Other guest hosts included comedian Roy Wood Jr., actress Brooke Shields, actress Wanda Sykes, singer Josh Groban, Today‘s Willie Geist, and actress Molly Sims.
On March 12, Entertainment Tonight reported that her absence was due to a “sudden family emergency,” while TMZ reported that the situation was “no cause for alarm” and that she took time to handle a “personal matter that does not directly involve her.”
Clarkson finally returned to the show on March 18, but did not address why she missed so many tapings.
The Real Reason Kelly Was Absent According To One Report
For her April 3rd show, Clarkson sat down with Jack Black, Jason Mamoa, and Danielle Brooks to promote their film, A Minecraft Movie. Clarkson took her kids, River (10), and Remington (9), to a preview shortly before the taping of this interview.
Clarkson thanked them for putting out such a fun kids movie especially right now, when her kids were dealing with something hard.
“It was kind of a dark week for me and my family, and I got to preview the movie with them. It was such an exciting thing. So I just wanted to say thank you. It brought my kids out of, like, a sad time to like, just a normal kind of time.”
Fans speculated that this was the reason for her absence. Now, thanks to a report from NewsNation, we know the potential reason why.
An unnamed source claiming to be close to the situation told NewsNation writer Paula Froelich, “Her ex-husband is sick and she took the kids to see him.”
Brandon Blackstock, Clarkson’s ex-husband and the father of her kids, lives in Montana. The pair separated in 2020 and had contentious divorce proceedings, with Clarkson having to pay him over a million dollars, plus thousands of dollars per month in child support.
We will keep Clarkson’s kids in our thoughts as they navigate this difficult time.
Check out our favorite Remington and River moment below.