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(NewsNation) — Fans are concerned about Kelly Clarkson after the singer turned TV star has been absent from her eponymous talk show for over a week — with no explanation.
The first absence was last Monday, March 3, when Simu Liu guest-hosted and told the audience: “Kelly isn’t able to make it today. We’re sending her our very best… I did not know that I was doing this until about five minutes ago when I arrived to promote my new movie, ‘Last Breath.'”
The next day, Clarkson hosted and didn’t address her absence … and again ghosted her show two days later. Since then, a slew of celebrity guest hosts, including Brooke Shields, Wanda Sykes and Josh Groban, have filled in.
Kelly Clarkson could be ‘overwhelmed’: Sources
But no one is addressing the elephant in the room: Where is Kelly?
Clarkson’s rep didn’t return my emails, but my sources suggest the star could be “overwhelmed”.
A source told “Entertainment Tonight” it was due to a “family emergency,” but Clarkson is expected to be back Thursday, March 13, for the show’s 1,000th episode.
FILE – Kelly Clarkson, center, and the team from “The Kelly Clarkson Show” accept the award for outstanding daytime talk series during the 51st Daytime Emmy Awards on Friday, June 7, 2024, at the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File) 
This combination of photos shows Kelsea Ballerini during CMA Fest 2022 in Nashville, Tenn., on June 10, 2022, left, Kelly Clarkson performing on NBC’s “Today” show in New York on Sept. 22, 2023, center, and Miley Cyrus performing at the 61st annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 10, 2019. Cyrus’ “Endless Summer Vacation” is up for album of the year and best pop vocal album. The single “Flowers” is nominated for three Grammy awards. Kelly Clarkson’s “Chemistry” is up for best pop vocal album and Kelsea Ballerini’s “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat” is up for best country album. (AP Photo) 
FILE – Kelly Clarkson performs during a tribute to Icon award winner Pink at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday, March 27, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Clarkson has responded, Saturday, May 13, to a Rolling Stone report accusing her daytime talk show of being a toxic workplace. She addressed the allegations after 11 current and former employees complained about being overworked and underpaid on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” in which they also called “traumatizing to their mental health” in the magazine’s Friday report. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File) 
Wayfair 
Kelly Clarkson arrives at the 66th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) 
Kelly Clarkson reacts to snow during the 92nd annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
But Clarkson has a lot on her plate.
Not only is she hosting her daily talk show, but, according to People, “Clarkson is also gearing up for her Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Her 18-show run kicks off on July 4, 2025, and is scheduled through Nov. 15, 2025.”
This is not the first time Clarkson has taken leave from her show — during her divorce from Brandon Blackstock in 2022, she spent the summer with her children in Montana.