Several anonymous current and former staffers from “The Kelly Clarkson Show” allege that it’s a toxic work environment.
Eleven employees (one current and 10 former) spoke to Rolling Stone, as part of an exposé published Friday, about their experiences working for the talk show. They claimed to be victims of bullying, verbal abuse, and retaliation from high-level producers. The employees further stated that complaining to human resources made no difference in their situation.
The staffers agreed that Clarkson herself did not contribute to the negative atmosphere and insinuated that she wasn’t aware of it. Instead, they placed most of the blame on the talk show’s executive producer, Alex Duda, who one staffer referred to as “a monster.”
They also alleged that producers under Duda bullied other employees, with one quitting after a producer “yelled and cursed at them multiple times on stage.” A production manager allegedly threw a stapler across the room and “would speak in a way that you’re not supposed to in a professional environment — cursing, raising his voice, and throwing a huge temper tantrum,” per the sources.
The anonymous staffers also claimed that they were overworked and underpaid. They found the job to be “traumatizing to their mental health.”
“I remember going up on the roof of the stage to cry being like, ‘Oh my gosh, what am I doing? Why am I putting myself through this?’” one former staffer told Rolling Stone.
Another staffer said Clarkson has “no clue how unhappy” her staff is and claimed Duda “shields” the “American Idol” winner from their complaints on purpose.
“Kelly is fantastic. She is a person who never treats anyone with anything but dignity and is incredibly appreciative,” one person told Rolling Stone. “I would be shocked if she knew. I’d be floored if she knew the staff wasn’t getting paid for two weeks of Christmas hiatus. The Kelly that I interacted with and that everyone knows would probably be pretty aghast to learn that.”
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“I have a friend who’s an executive producer who warned me about taking this job because apparently [Duda] has done this on every show she’s worked on,” another staffer said. Duda’s previous roles included working on “Steve Harvey” and “The Tyra Banks Show.”
Clarkson and show producers didn’t comment on the Rolling Stone story. “The Kelly Clarkson Show” took the time slot formerly occupied by the long-running “Ellen DeGeneres Show,” which ended after 19 seasons. “Ellen” was also plagued by rumors of being a toxic workplace following a BuzzFeed News exposé published in 2020.