Best Friend of 22 Years: ‘Kelly cried for real, not for show’
OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Kelly Clarkson was recently criticized online after she became emotional during a performance on The Voice, with some calling her tearful reaction “an act” meant to earn attention.
Ashley Donovan — Clarkson’s longtime best friend who has sung backup for her since her 2002 American Idol win — spoke up to reject that claim. Appearing on a livestream, Donovan said she has personally witnessed Clarkson cry in private moments simply because she missed her mother in Texas, and stressed that the moment on television was not a performance.
Her message was direct: Kelly does not fabricate emotion — she simply refuses to hide it.
Donovan’s comment captured that point clearly when she said that if viewers wanted a detached show-business persona, they were looking in the wrong place. Clarkson built her career on being open — and her success on The Voice and her own syndicated daytime talk show suggests audiences connect to that openness.
The pushback also underscored the contradiction within the criticism: Clarkson’s vulnerability has been part of her public presence since the beginning of her career. Being expressive is not new for her — and Donovan’s testimony emphasized that the emotion viewers saw was the same emotion Clarkson has shown away from cameras for more than two decades.
