Kelly Clarkson hints at which celebs were rude and made her talent show win a “horrible experience”

More than 20 years ago, Kelly Clarkson stepped on the stage of a new TV series called American Idol and became the first ever to win the singing competition.

Shedding the dubious distinction of reality star, Clarkson carved out a legitimate career as a multiple award-winning singer, author and talk show host, proving she’s a force to be reckoned.

But in her early days, Clarkson revealed that as a reality performer, some in the ruthless celebrity world tried to break her spirit and slammed her artistic talents.

In 2002, Kelly Clarkson became the first winner of American Idol, a new TV series that aimed to discover new recording stars. After her win, Clarkson signed with RCA Records and released her first single, “A Moment Like This,” which topped the charts and made her an overnight star.

Since then, the 41-year-old served as a coach on The Voice, earned three Grammy Awards, netted five Daytime Emmy Awards for her eponymous talk show, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, to name a few.

But the “Because of You” revealed that due to her start on a reality TV show, she felt dismissed and was met with some criticisms.

“People [were] really mean to us because we’re from a talent show and it was the first season. Like, everyone was so rude to us,” Clarkson said to 9-1-1 star Jennifer Love Hewitt on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2021.

Meeting the 1990s “it girl” days before she was crowned in the American Idol finale, the

“Since U Been Gone” singer thanked Hewitt for being one of the celebrities who treated her with kindness, while others questioned her artistic abilities.

“You probably don’t remember this, but it stuck with me for so long, like for almost 20 years now…It was so bad. It was a horrible experience, and you came up to me and ran out of nowhere and were like, ‘Oh my gosh! I’m really rooting for you!’” She continued, “You told me ‘Please keep the ones you love close…this business can be really hard, and just remember keep those people that really love you.’”

Two years later, those words to the star of I Know What You Did Last Summer came back to haunt her.

Recently appearing on an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Clarkson played “Plead the Fifth”–a game that traps celebrities into sharing dark truths–and was asked to name a few of the celebrities she claimed were rude to her back in the day.

“I will say a lot of them ended up on shows like the one I’m from,” Clarkson said, possibly referring to celebrity judges or hosts on shows like The Voice, The X Factor, America’s Got Talent, the American Idol reboot or maybe Dancing with the Stars.“It’s funny what money does,” Clarkson added.

Who do you think Kelly Clarkson is referring to? Please share this story and let’s try figure out who made her early days so “horrible!“