Kelly Clarkson Takes Shady Swipe At Ex-Husband With One Simple Word

For those who celebrate, Christmas is meant to be a time to spend with family and friends and spread goodwill all around. For "Since U Been Gone" artist Kelly Clarkson, however, the 2024 holiday season also presented an opportunity for her to deride her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, in a festive fashion.

To promote her recent holiday-themed album "When Christmas Comes Around... Again," Clarkson released an "Official Album Visualizer" which was uploaded to her official YouTube channel. Along with a flickering wood fire and girthy Christmas tree included to visually complement contemporary holiday tunes like "You For Christmas" and "Merry Christmas (To the One I Used to Know)," she also snuck in a subtle reference seemingly directed toward her former beau. The video shows four stockings, three with the names of her and her kids, hung by the fireplace with care. However, Clarkson would imaginably be unfazed or delighted if the fourth stocking, which scornfully reads "Nope," perhaps in reference to Blackstock, fell into the tall, festive flames below.

Kelly Clarkson's yuletide jab at former husband, Brandon Blackstock, seems well-justified, considering the former couple's turbulent history. While there might have been a major sign they were always headed for divorce, they still seemed happy for a good portion of their relationship, and some onlookers might have felt blindsided when their marriage ended. Regardless, after almost seven years of marriage, Clarkson and Blackstock went their separate ways in June 2020 and had a messy divorce. Since they split, Clarkson hasn't been afraid to reference Blackstock and their relationship in songs like "Me," and her recent Christmas video looks to be just another example of her venting, albeit with more comedic intentions.

Users on X, formerly Twitter, praised Clarkson for her humorous take on her failed marriage and backed her up for poking fun at Blackstock. "Kelly Clarkson's continual shade towards her cheating, lying, manipulative, nasty, red-flag, narcissist, rat of an ex-husband will forever keep me breathing," one user wrote. YouTube commenters similarly noticed the subtle message and attributed its funny attitude to their increased enjoyment of an already spirited, holiday-oriented album and its visual accompaniment. "WHOAH!" one commenter exclaimed. "That 'nope' is crazy. Incredible album too btw." Even despite its apparently backhanded inclusion, some still found the "Nope" stocking, along with the others shown, to be a cute detail that further added to the video's cheerful tone. "So healing!" another user wrote, describing the album and video. "'Mom, River, Remy, and Nope' is so cute and adorable."