Kelly Clarkson didn’t win “American Idol” for being like everyone else; she won for being herself. And she wasn’t going to let one of the show’s executive producers bully her into wearing makeup when she didn’t want to. Now, Clarkson has previously gone makeup-free and anyone would agree that she’s stunning. However, during a February 2024 episode of the “Smartless” podcast, the talk show host and mother-of-two revealed that she found herself in hot water while appearing on the talent show that skyrocketed her to fame because she didn’t want to wear makeup while filming behind-the-scenes footage at the contestants’ shared accommodation.
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While Clarkson said she didn’t have a problem with having her makeup done for her performances, she didn’t feel the need to get glammed up in her downtime. “One producer in particular, high up, was not a fan of me just because I didn’t play that game,” Clarkson explained on the podcast, noting that the other girls that season enjoyed being in the makeup chair, but not her. “They would have to force me to sit there because I’m highly allergic [to] anything that gets near my eyes,” she said. Still, Clarkson admitted that she and her makeup artist were close and that she respected the art form behind makeup.
In a 2017 interview with Variety, Clarkson also touched on her anti-makeup stance when filming shots in the “American Idol” home. “I’m not dolled up to hang out in my house ever,” she said, adding that she “was such a night owl” on the show, while her roomies would wake up early to do yoga.
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Kelly Clarkson continues to stand up for herself throughout her career
Aside from her “American Idol” makeup drama, there are many tragic things that Kelly Clarkson has faced in her career concerning her appearance, including comments about her weight. “I’ve always had to be like — stand strong for myself with my body image in the public eye,” Clarkson revealed to guest Serena Williams on a December 2020 episode of “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (via Today). The singer explained how she stands up for herself not only because it’s offensive when others comment on her body but “because other women and other little girls are looking out there, and they’re bigger than me and they’re going, ‘Well wait, if they think she’s this way, then what does the world think of me?'”
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While Clarkson has had an unrecognizable weight loss transformation in recent years, she clarifies it wasn’t driven by external pressure, telling People in January 2024 that she lost weight for health reasons. Her doctor had been telling her for years that she needed to slim down, but she didn’t listen at first. She also relocated to New York, and credited the huge amount of walking everyone does in the city with helping up her fitness levels and shed some weight.
Clarkson now appears happy with her smaller size, though this wasn’t always the case. The artist reflected on a previous period of weight loss during a 2017 interview with Attitude and admitted, “When I was really skinny and unhappy, I wanted to kill myself. I was miserable, inside and out, for four years of my life. But no one cared, because aesthetically, you make sense.”
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