Kelly Clarkson addresses rumoured ‘beef’ between her and Carrie Underwood

‘We don’t know each other enough to be pitted against each other,’ the ‘Since U Been Gone’ singer said

Kelly Clarkson has made it clear that there is “no beef” between her and fellow singer Carrie Underwood, despite years of being “pitted against each other”.

During a Tuesday (27 June) appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, the former American Idol victor, 41, fielded virtual questions from fans.

“Kelly, after years of people trying to pit you and Carrie Underwood against each other,” one fan began. However, before she was able to finish her question, Clarkson interrupted to say: “I think I know where you’re going with this!

“People always pit us together and we don’t even know each other well enough to be pitted against each other,” she continued. “Like, literally, we’ve run into each other a handful of times. There’s no beef between us.”

Further adding to her point, she said: “There’s nothing between us because we don’t know each other, so like, we literally run into each other a few times.”

Host Cohen stepped in to ask the fan what the rest of her question was, while Clarkson awkwardly realised: “Oh, yeah. Oh, it wasn’t the question.”

Letting out a laugh, the fan continued with her question, which took a completely different turn. “What was your favourite part of having [Underwood] as a guest on your talk show?” she asked.

Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood (Getty Images)

Embarrassed by her blunder, Clarkson rose from her chair, pretending to leave the studio.

“Look, everybody always asks me the pitted against each other question,” she said defensively as she returned to her seat.

Responding to the question, Clarkson remembered: “It was awesome. It was great to have her on the show.

“Everybody always pits us against each other and I don’t know why they do that. They don’t do that with dudes. They only do it with females.”

She noted that she would love to have Underwood, 40, there in person next time, explaining that the interview had happened over Zoom during Covid.

Though the artists remain in fairly different musical genres, with the “Stronger” singer in pop and the “Before He Cheats” singer mainly country, the two are among American Idol’s biggest success stories.

Clarkson was the singing competition’s season one winner in 2002, followed a few years later by Underwood who was the show’s fourth-season champion in 2005.