BRITNEY SPEARS AND KELLY CLARKSON ARE FEUDING!
What a beneficent universe.
Ok, there’s a lot going on here. First of all, Kelly Clarkson has evidently hosted a talk show for the last three years. Second of all, there’s evidently a segment on this show called “Kellyoke” in which Clarkson covers various songs.
Now. The beef.
On Monday, Britney Spears posted an Instagram reel (she was dancing in the reel, which I think is unimportant, but who knows) captioned:
“I don’t forget” … don’t you just wish she would say she’s kidding ??? Clarkson … in world where bullying has been heartbreaking, I’ve had my share …. Can we get an AWW *writing emoji x3* ???
Pss … I’m not kidding … play on friends, play on !!!
Because of all of this *gestures at pop media*, we were immediately informed that what Spears was referencing was a 2008 interview between Clarkson and Bert Weiss on Q100 Atlanta’s “The Bert Show” (which still exists—good for you, Bert). In the interview, Weiss showed Clarkson a clip of Spears speaking in a British accent (this was during what we’ll call the “meltdown”). At one point, Clarkson said, “Man, but wouldn’t it be funny if she’s just totally screwing with everyone?” adding, “Because it’d be real funny if she were like, ‘Just kidding!’” At another point, Clarkson said, “I mean, think about it. She’s done no press for her album—which I love, by the way,” continuing, “She’s done no press, just gets so much press off all this other stuff.”
I did not understand this the first time through (thanks a lot, Distractify), but evidently the interpretation of the interview was not that Clarkson was saying Spears was using the British accent as a publicity stunt, but that the entirety of the meltdown was a publicity stunt, which—I mean, insensitive if that’s what she meant, but one hell of a conspiracy theory. So, that’s how we are told Spears probably took it, by those who study Spears like centuries of scholars before them studied Shakespeare. Others, who’ve done a fuller analysis of the whole interview, have pointed out Clarkson was fairly defensive of Spears, pivoted the conversation away from Spears, etc.
What’s happened since the post? Spears deleted the caption (or the post, I’m not sure which, I haven’t looked at Britney Spears’s Instagram in…my life?), and Clarkson covered “Womanizer” in Kellyoke.
Now, here’s where this comes full circle. You know what’s named Kellyoke, beyond a segment on The Kelly Clarkson Show? Kelly Clarkson’s new EP of six covers. I know. Me too. This is also the first I’ve heard of this EP. Making one wonder: Has Clarkson does any press for it? Because she’s sure getting so much press off all this other stuff.
