A producer on The Kelly Clarkson Present says it looks like the daytime discuss present might “collapse any minute” amid rumors that host Kelly Clarkson will give up the present subsequent yr when her NBCUniversal contract expires.
The nameless producer not too long ago advised the Day by day Mail they’re “not feeling too steady” amid the present’s unsure future. They added, “[Clarkson] might bolt at any time. The place does that depart me?”
And “pressured is an understatement” in relation to the vibe on set, the producer mentioned. “Nobody likes the uncertainty. This feels prefer it might collapse any minute.”
The Day by day Mail stories that Hoda Kotb, recent from her TODAY retirement, is rumored to be a potential substitute for Clarkson, and the tipster appears amenable to that changeover.
“Everybody loves Kelly,” the producer mentioned. “She’s an exquisite particular person. However perhaps Hoda can be a greater boss. I do know she’s universally beloved and revered by her former coworkers. Possibly she can be good. She positive can be much more steady than what we’ve been going via. … If Kelly is sad, then she ought to transfer on. We might all perceive. If Hoda desires to do it, it may very well be [a] win-win for everybody.”
Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal
The Day by day Mail additionally stories that Clarkson’s ten-episode absence from her present in March put the employees on edge. Later that month, a Kelly Clarkson Present worker advised the outlet that there was a “actually unsettling” and “very bizarre” ambiance on set after Clarkson’s return, saying the host was much less accessible to staffers than she was earlier than her absence.
Clarkson returned to the present in time for the 1,000th episode celebration, however even throughout that joyous affair, she made a cryptic remark, telling her viewers that she had “misplaced, alone, lots” in the course of the present’s run.
When The Kelly Clarkson Present premiered in 2019, the pop star was nonetheless married to Brandon Blackstock, with whom she shares two children, however the couple cut up the next yr and finalized the divorce in 2022. Then, in 2023, The Kelly Clarkson Present moved its manufacturing from Los Angeles to New York Metropolis, marking a recent begin for its host. On the time, Clarkson advised The Day by day Beast that fifth season marked the primary by which she was “not extremely unhappy deep inside.”
Final month, Web page Six additionally reported that Clarkson desires to give up the present to spend extra time together with her children on the finish of her contract in 2026. “Kelly’s No. 1 precedence is her youngsters, they usually at all times will probably be,” a supply advised the outlet. “The present is grueling. It’s a complete lot of labor, and I hear that Kelly wish to spend extra time down south.”
And on Sunday, Might 25, the gossip website Deuxmoi additionally circulated rumors that Kotb would substitute Clarkson, with a supply telling the positioning that an official announcement may very well be simply days away.
The Kelly Clarkson Present, Weekdays, Examine Native Listings