Kelly Clarkson has faced criticism after she admitted to using spanking as a tool to punish her kids if they misbehave.
The star first made the comments back in 2018 while in conversation with Atalanta radio station 94.1, but the comments recently resurfaced and have left the internet divided.
Clarkson is known for all manner of things, but most recently she has found success with her talk show, called, surprisingly enough, The Kelly Clarkson Show. The star first rose to fame, though, after she won the first season of American Idol. Clarkson went on to be a huge success in the music industry, with tracks such as ‘Stronger’ and ‘Breakaway’ being mainstays in the charts.
In terms of her personal life, Clarkson married the son of her former manager, Brandon Blackstock, back in 2013, before divorcing last year. The pair have 2 children together – River Rose, born in 2014, and Remington “Remy” Alexander, born in 2016.
“I’m not above a spanking, which people aren’t necessarily into. I don’t mean hitting her hard, I just mean a spanking,” Clarkson explained, per VT.
The singer went on to explain that she even uses spanking as a parenting tool when out in public.
“That’s a tricky thing when you’re out in public because then people are like, they think that’s wrong or something, but I find nothing wrong with a spanking,” she said.
The talk show host went on to explain that her opinions stem from her own experiences, as her parents used the same method on her when she was little, and she grew up to be a “well-rounded individual with a lot of character.”
“My parents spanked me and I did fine in life. I’m from the south y’all so like, we get spankings,” Clarkson explained. “My mom would call the principal if I ever ended up in the principal’s office and give permission for her to spank me.”
The ‘Because of You’ singer went on to explain that she warns her kids before restorting to spanking.
“I’m like, ‘Hi, I’m going to spank you on your bottom if you don’t stop right now, this is ridiculous,’ and honestly it’s really helped.
“She doesn’t do that kind of stuff as often,” she added.
Following on from Clarkson’s comments, people across the internet were left divided about her views.
One person wrote: “Kelly Clarkson lost all my respect the moment I read that she spanks her children.”
Another said: “Of course, let’s teach children that violence against someone, especially those weaker and smaller than you is the right response. If you’re cross with someone just hit them…great message!”
However, others disagreed.
“Kelly Clarkson said she spanks her children and now she’s being canceled – society is sad – spanking is different from beatings and beatings are different from *ss whoppings,” one person argued.
Another added: “There is nothing wrong with spanking. There is a stark difference between a spank and beating a child.”
