SIGH.
Kelly Clarkson is once again on the receiving end of some serious mommy-shaming.
This time, however, we can at least understand where certain critics are coming from.
Back in April of last year, Clarkson actually received flak for giving her toddler Nutella, which was simply ridiculous.
And cruel.
And misguided.
And very unfair.
On Tuesday, though, the original American Idol champion conducted a radio interview with 98.9 The Buzz in Rochester, New York and went into surprising detail about how she sometimes disciplines her kids.
“I’m not above a spanking, which people aren’t necessarily into,” the singer said, referring to how she occasionally interacts with her three-year old and one-year old.
Aware that there’s some controversy surrounding this type of punishment, Clarkson added:
“I don’t mean hitting her hard. I just mean a spanking.”
The artist went on to say that she’s a product of spanking herself. This is how she was raised.’
“My parents spanked me, and I did fine in life, and I feel fine about it, and I do that as well,” Clarkson said, explaining:
“That’s a tricky thing, when you’re out in public, because then people are like, they think that’s wrong or something, but I find nothing wrong with a spanking.”
As you might expect, this point of view did not go over with some trolls on the Internet.
They called Clarkson out for being unnecessarily violent with her kids.
Is a discussion over spanking better than a discussion over Nutella? Absolutely.
But we still have no idea what Kelly means by this exactly, and it’s very safe to assume she takes it easy on her children.
“I warn her,” Clarkson said of disciplining her three-year-old daughter, River Rose, with spanking.
“I’m like, ‘Hi, I’m going to spank you on your bottom if you don’t stop right now, this is ridiculous,’ and honestly it’s really helped. She doesn’t do that kind of stuff as often.”
There you have it.
Granted, the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that parents “do not spank or use other physical punishments” when disciplining children in a statement on their website.
This says the act “only teaches aggressive behavior, and becomes ineffective if used often.”
For this reason, a few Facebook followers lashed out at Clarkson in response to her post.
“Wish she would do some research making public ignorant comments. Spanking teaches violence,” wrote one individual, while another added:
“I never spanked my kids. I think it’s lazy parenting.”
Thankfully, others came to Clarkson’s defense.
“Good for her! Glad there are still parents out there that set limits for their kids and give consequences when needed,” replied one person, continuing:
“There is a difference between abuse and punishing out of love not anger. Spanking in a controlled manner and with loving correction can be a very good thing.”
For whatever reason, Clarkson has often been the subject of online vitriol.
But if you dish it out, you better be able to take it.
Because Clarkson has made it clear she’s not afraid of fighting back.