Kelly Clarkson has made it clear that she has no intention of acquainting her children with a particular, infamous chapter of her career.
During the closing show of her Las Vegas residency on Saturday, the 44-year-old songstress shared with her audience that she has imposed a strict embargo on her kids, River Rose, 12, and Remington, 10, when it comes to viewing her 2003 musical comedy film, “From Justin to Kelly.”
“Well, it’s an Oscar-worthy number, and it’s called ‘From Justin to Kelly,’” Clarkson joked, as reported by a video obtained by Us Weekly. She then summed up her involvement with the movie in two telling words: “Contractually obligated.”
“Man, read the f—ing fine print, you know,” she humorously advised the crowd. “I had no clue that winning meant a mandatory movie. Not all of us aspire to be Meryl Streep; some of us just enjoy watching her, okay? I protested, ‘I don’t want to act in a movie,’ but the response was, ‘Yeah, but you won.’ And I thought, ‘Why does it feel like I’m losing? This doesn’t quite feel like a victory.'”
In this cinematic endeavor, Clarkson co-starred with Justin Guarini, the runner-up from the inaugural season of “American Idol.” The musical, which premiered on the big screen soon after Clarkson’s notable win, narrates the story of two young individuals who meet and fall in love during a carefree spring break.
More than two decades later, Clarkson made clear she isn’t looking back at the project through rose-colored glasses.
After a fan at the concert defended the film, Clarkson joked that the audience member was watching it with “loving eyes,” before offering her own decidedly less flattering assessment: “It’s s—.”
And her two children apparently won’t get the chance to judge her performance for themselves anytime soon.
“It is funny though, like, my kids, I’ve banned them from watching,” Clarkson admitted.
Despite her feelings about the film, the singer said the experience wasn’t entirely negative.
“The music part, that was fun,” she said. “See? You gotta find the positive, motherf—ers, you know? Turn that s— into lemonade … and cry yourself to sleep.”
“From Justin to Kelly” was released in 2003, one year after Clarkson’s victory on the first season of “American Idol.”