Media outlets from across the nation, including Today, Page Six, Good Morning America and Billboard are talking about a radio interview in which Texas-raised singer Kelly Clarkson says she is "not above spanking."
"And I don't mean like hitting her hard, I just mean a spanking," the singer allegedly says. "My parents spanked me, I did fine in life and I feel fine about it. ... I'm from the South, y'all, so we get spankings. ... I'm a well-rounded individual with a lot of character, so I think it's fine."
Us Magazine notes that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents "do not spank or use physical punishments," as it could teach a child unhealthy aggressive behavior.
Social media reactions have been mixed, with some comments supporting Clarkson's parenting methods and others reprimanding her for them.
@kelly_clarkson spanking is disgusting, unacceptable and is a basically a form of physical violence and is abuse. You may have turned out “fine”. But continuing violent disciplinary fear tactics instead of teaching is frankly abuse apologist and triggering to abuse survivors.
— 𝕭𝖑𝖆𝖈𝖐 𝖂𝖎𝖉𝖍𝖔𝖊 (@scarlettroseV) January 6, 2018
I'm a mom from California. I disciplined my twoi daughter's with spanking until they were maybe 10 yrs old. The spanking became less and less necessary as they learned that no meant no, and it would mean consequences. They are wonderful women now. I support you. @kelly_clarkson
— Debra Wilmers (@DebraWilmers) January 11, 2018
I’m all for spanking too, @kelly_clarkson. People that are calling it “abuse” need to take a chill pill. https://t.co/2SMtitlazK
— Joe Moravsky (@JoeMoravsky) January 8, 2018
One caveat, though, is that nobody seems to actually know where these quotes from Clarkson actually came from. Most outlets reporting this story say the interview was with the radio station 98.9 The Buzz in Rochester, New York. The hosts at The Buzz sound surprised to hear that.
"According to Good Morning America, from the clip I just played, you guys are the ones doing the interview," one of the hosts said when discussing the story on Wednesday.
Another host started laughing. A third shouts (slightly off-mic), "What? No! ... We didn't talk to her. Do you remember talking to Kelly Clarkson?"
Today.com says that the interview was with radio.com. But that clip? It also says the audio comes from 98.9 The Buzz.
So where this audio actually came from remains a mystery, and as such we're personally taking the out-of-context quotes with a grain of salt. Clarkson hasn't come out and denied that she said any of the things she's quoted as saying, so it seems likely the interview really happened ... somewhere.
