Kelly Clarkson Wins Key Rulings Ahead of New Trial With Ex-Husband

Kelly Clarkson scored key rulings at a court hearing Wednesday as a judge set the ground rules for her summer showdown with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock in their ongoing war over commissions he paid himself as her manager. A Los Angeles County judge said Clarkson and Blackstock will go head-to-head at a bench trial starting August 27. The trial will focus solely on whether Blackstock violated the law when he procured deals for Clarkson such as her judging gig on NBC’s The Voice and then paid himself related commissions.

A California Labor Commissioner first ruled on the dispute last November, largely siding with Clarkson and awarding her $2.6 million. Blackstock appealed the ruling last December, setting the stage for the so-called “de novo” trial in state court, meaning a fresh trial starting from the beginning. In recent court filings, Blackstock’s lawyers asked for a wide-ranging discovery process leading up to the retrial.

They hoped to simultaneously explore the breach-of-contract claims they lodged against Clarkson in a related lawsuit filed in 2020. They also signaled plans to question Clarkson about her personal finances, including how she and Blackstock funded their marriage. They said Blackstock hoped to “confirm” that his commission fees were used to pay joint marital expenses and fund a lifestyle that Clarkson also “was able to enjoy.”

A judge shot down Blackstock’s request Wednesday, saying the August trial will be laser-focused on whether he collected fees on Clarkson’s deals in violation of California’s Talent Agencies Act, which prohibits anyone other than licensed talent agents from procuring engagements for professional artists. The judge put everything else on hold in the meantime.

“We will litigate whether there was a violation of the labor code only. Any questions as to earnings and damages, all of that will come after,” Judge Wendy Chang ruled from the bench. Her decision followed after Clarkson’s lawyer, Ed McPherson, argued that if his client prevails at the de novo proceeding in August, Blackstock and his family-owned management company, Starstruck Entertainment, will be barred from pursuing the claims in their 2020 lawsuit at a follow-up trial.