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Kelly Clarkson is calling out “American Idol” over alleged broken promises.
During Tuesday’s episode of “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” the 43-year-old singer and talk show host — who was crowned winner during the singing competition’s first season in 2002 — claimed she never received the $1 million check that she was promised.
Clarkson, who was joined by “Harry Potter” actor Daniel Radcliffe and reality star Rob Rausch, claimed that “Idol” executives “lied” while discussing Rausch’s $220,800 winnings from Season 4 of “The Traitors.”
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Kelly Clarkson claims “American Idol” lied to her and never paid her the $1 million prize she was promised. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy; Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
“You know what, I relate to this!” Clarkson said after Rausch revealed he has not received his payout. “I relate to this so hardcore. You probably weren’t alive when I was on ‘American Idol,’ but I was literally on the show.”
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“They were like, ‘Oh, you win a million dollars,’ or whatever,” Clarkson said. “No, you didn’t. They lied. It was like a million dollars’ worth of investment in you.”
“Wait, what?” a shocked Radcliffe responded.
“Yes! They said you get a car,” she added. “And I needed it because my car was bashed in, and I couldn’t afford the deductible. And then — no! I did not get a car.”
The talk show host said she was also promised a car, but never received one. (Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
“Clay Aiken, who didn’t win the second season, got a car — and [so did] his mom!” she continued.
“I was like, ‘What the f—!’” Clarkson added. “He’s like, ‘Yeah, they gave my mom one.’ I was like, ‘I’m gonna actually kick your a– right now.’”
Radcliffe jumped in and suggested that winners of a show’s early seasons should receive higher payouts if the prize improves throughout the years.
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“There should be some system where if you win something on the first season of something, whatever the prize has become, you should retroactively get that,” he said.
“No, it was supposed to be the prize then, OK? It was supposed to be the prize then!” she said.
Clarkson won the show’s first season in 2002. (Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Live Nation Las Vegas)
“That’s why I’m saying — you might not see it,” Clarkson told Rausch. “But, you know, I hope you got enough TV time.”
Representatives for “American Idol” did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Last year, Clarkson opened up about her experience on the show’s first season.
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During an interview on Kylie Kelce’s podcast, “Not Gonna Lie,” Clarkson shared she was not aware that what she was doing was going to be televised until later on in the audition process.
“For all of us in that first season, we literally didn’t … I didn’t even know it was a TV show until my third audition,” she explained. “Like, we were literally trying to pay our bills. We’re like, ‘Oh, this might work. I might meet someone or whatever.’ Nobody knew it was gonna amount to anything.”
Since winning “American Idol,” the 43-year-old singer has won three Grammy Awards. (Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
She went on to explain that when she was competing as a 19-year-old, the only thing on her mind was to potentially make enough money “to pay my electric bill,” or to be able to “afford the deductible on my car that was bashed in that I couldn’t afford.”
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Following her big win, Clarkson released her debut album, “Thankful,” in 2003. Its success led her to release her second album, “Breakaway,” which included some of her biggest hits, such as “Since U Been Gone,” “Behind These Hazel Eyes” and “Because of You.” She has since won three Grammy Awards and received 17 nominations.
Fox News Digital’s Lori Bashian contributed to this post.
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