‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ Staffers Reportedly “Traumatized” by Toxic Workplace: “Worst Experience I’ve Ever Had in My Life”

The Kelly Clarkson Show is coming under fire by current and former staffers for allegedly harboring a toxic workplace — something many of them believe host Kelly Clarkson is completely unaware of.

According to a new report by Rolling Stone, employees referred to the show’s executive producer Alex Duda as a “monster,” with others in the industry allegedly having warned them about working with her. One former employee, who recently quit, claimed they were yelled at and cursed at by a producer who reports directly to Duda.

“This job deteriorated my mental health,” they said.

Another revealed that they had to take a month-long leave of absence after reportedly being “bullied and intimidated” by producers. The former staffer, who worked on several different sets and began seeing a psychiatrist for the first time in their life while working on The Kelly Clarkson Show, said it was “by far the worst experience I’ve ever had in my entire life.”

They added, “It deterred me from wanting to work in daytime ever again. When I say I was traumatized, I was really traumatized.”

A third employee told Rolling Stone that their production manager was “verbally abusive,” and recalled a time they witnessed him throwing a stapler across the office.

“He 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,” they said. “Other people who know him would laugh it off and say, ‘Oh, he’s in a bad mood,’ but it shouldn’t be laughed off. Why does he get a pass for bad behavior?”

This employee, along with others, claimed they’ve reported several issues to HR, but “they didn’t do anything.” They continued, “What’s the point of HR? They’re lying to you too. They make it seem like they’re there for you and then when push comes to shove they’re not around.”

Another employee left the show after Duda allegedly reprimanded them for asking executive producers how the show planned to address the spread of AAPI hate. However, things only worsened when they reported the incident to HR.

“I can’t believe I raised something that wasn’t easy to raise in the first place, got attacked for it, and then when I told them how they made me feel uncomfortable for bringing an important issue to them, they attacked me again and made me feel even worse,” they said.

Meanwhile, many believe Clarkson has “no clue how unhappy her staff is.”

“Kelly is fantastic. She is a person who never treats anyone with anything but dignity and is incredibly appreciative,” a former employee said of the American Idol winner. “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.”

They continued, “The Kelly that I interacted with and that everyone knows would probably be pretty aghast to learn that.”

The report comes on the heels of the show’s recently announced move from Los Angeles to New York City for its next season — something that had been previously discussed internally, but staff allegedly did not receive concrete notice of until Duda sent out an email minutes before the news broke.

A current employee revealed to the magazine they were were trying to escape the “toxicity” of daytime television after already having a bad experience on another show. Although they claim Duda and those loyal to her “haven’t broken that cycle” as they continue to “promote a bad culture.”

“All these daytime shows are supposed to make you feel good and be happy,” the employee said. “Kelly uses a sign-off, ‘Make it a great day and if it’s not great, change it,’ but it’s hard to exist and work in a machine that’s pumping out this happy, bubbly, positive messaging and then you have people here who are just treated badly.”

An NBCU spokesperson told Decider, “We are committed to a safe and respectful work environment and take workplace complaints very seriously and to insinuate otherwise is untrue. When issues are reported they are promptly reviewed, investigated and acted upon as appropriate.”

They continued, “The Kelly Clarkson Show strives to build a safe, respectful and equitable workplace that nurtures a culture of inclusivity and creativity.”

UPDATED 5/12/23 AT 1:35 P.M.: This story has been updated to include comment from NBC.