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Kelly Clarkson calls out “American Idol” for allegedly breaking promises.
On Tuesday’s episode of “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” the 43-year-old singer and talk show host — who won the title on the singing competition’s first season in 2002 — said she didn’t get the $1 million check she was promised.
Clarkson, joined by “Harry Potter” actor Daniel Radcliffe and reality star Rob Rausch, said “Idol” executives “lied” when discussing Rausch’s $220,800 win on Season 4 of “The Traitors.”
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Kelly Clarkson says “American Idol” lied to her and didn’t pay her the $1 million prize she was promised. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy; Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
“You know what, I have something to do with this!” Clarkson said after Rausch revealed that he had not received his payment. “I relate to this very strongly. You probably weren’t there when I was on ‘American Idol,’ but I was literally on the show.”
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“They were like, ‘Oh, you win a million dollars,’ or whatever,” Clarkson said. “No, you didn’t. They lied. It was like a million dollar investment for you.”
“Wait, what?” replied Radcliffe in shock.
“Yes! They said get a car”, he got in. “And I needed it because my car was totaled, and I couldn’t afford the deductible. And then – no! I didn’t get the car.”
The host of the talk show said that he was also promised a car, but he did not get it. (Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
“Clay Aiken, who didn’t win for the second season, got a car – again [so did] his mother!” he continued.
“I was like, ‘What the f—!'” Clarkson added. “He’s like, ‘Yeah, they gave my mom one.’ I was like, ‘I’m actually going to kick you– right now.’
Radcliffe stepped in and suggested that winners in the early seasons of the game should receive higher payouts if the prize improves over the years.
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“There should be a system where if you win something in the first season of something, no matter what the award is, you have to get it again,” he said.
“No, it should have been a prize then, OK? It should have been a prize then!” he said.
Clarkson won the first season of the show in 2002. (Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Live Nation Las Vegas)
“That’s why I say — you might not see it,” Clarkson told Rausch. “But, you know, I hope you have enough TV time.”
Representatives for “American Idol” did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Last year, Clarkson opened up about her experience on the show’s first season.
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During an interview on Kylie Kelce’s podcast, “I Won’t Lie” Clarkson revealed that he had no idea what he was doing would be televised until later in the audition process.
“For all of us in that first season, we actually didn’t … I didn’t even know it was a TV show until my third audition,” he explained. “Like, we were trying to pay our bills. We’re like, ‘Oh, this might work. I might meet someone or whatever.’ No one knew what would happen. “
Since winning “American Idol,” the 43-year-old singer has won three Grammy Awards. (Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
He went on to explain that when he was competing as a 19-year-old, the only thing on his mind was making enough money “to pay my electric bill,” or to be able to “get a deductible on my car that I couldn’t afford.”
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After her big win, Clarkson released her debut album, “Thankful,” in 2003. Its success led him to release his second album, “Breakaway,” which included his biggest hits, such as “Since U Been Gone,” “Behind These Hazel Eyes” and “Because of You.” Since then he has won three Grammy Awards and received 17 nominations.
Lori Bashian of Fox News Digital contributed to this post.
