Kelly Clarkson Throws Subtle Shade to Ex-Husband Brandon Blackstock in Christmas Album Visualizer

‘Tis the season to be a little petty.

Kelly Clarkson shared her official album visualizer for her 2021 holiday project, When Christmas Comes Around… Again on Wednesday (Dec. 18), and the cozy fireplace display in the clip features a lineup for four stockings. Clarkson and her two children, River Rose and Remington Alexander, all have their names on stockings, while the fourth one is labeled “Nope,” presumably as a playful jab to her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock. Clarkson hasn’t officially confirmed the reasoning behind the fourth stocking.

It’s been a bumpy road since Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock in June 2020 after seven years of marriage. The case was finalized in 2022, and the singer agreed to pay her ex-husband monthly child support of $45,601 for their two children — nine-year-old daughter River Rose and eight-year-old son Remy Alexander — plus a one-time payment of $1.3 million.

Shortly after Clarkson filed for divorce, Starstruck sued her for alleged unpaid fees, claiming the company had “invested a great deal of time, money, energy, and dedication” into her and had “developed Clarkson into a mega superstar.”

In response, Clarkson filed a complaint with California’s Labor Commissioner, claiming that Blackstock and Starstruck had violated California’s Talent Agencies Act by serving as her managers as well as unlicensed talent agents who booked her business deals. In November, a Labor Commissioner ruled in Clarkson’s favor and Blackstock was ordered to repay Clarkson more than $2.6 million in commissions she paid him for handling a number of deals, including her role as a coach on The Voice. A month later, Blackstock and Starstruck challenged the ruling in court, asking for a Los Angeles judge to rule rather than the Labor Commissioner.

In May 2024, the lawsuit was settled.