Kelly Clarkson kicked off the second season of her hit talk show on Monday with a new accessory – an eye patch.
The singer and TV personality developed an eye infection earlier this month and hit the studio with her "pirate" look for her first show back after her COVID-19 semi-break.
"We did this long shoot for (TV competition show) The Voice and I was up in this window in these buildings on the Universal lot and they're all dusty and I'm highly allergic to dust," Kelly explains. "Something had gotten in my eye… and it got infected.
"When it first happened it was so puffy and I was like, 'What am I supposed to do? I have to shoot The Voice a full day in a patch… I looked like an assassin. It was so bad."
And the look will be living with her for a while, because Kelly had to shoot non-consecutive shows over three days while wearing the eye patch.
"We did six shows total, two shows a day… Those are not consecutive, man!" Clarkson tells California Live. "I'm gonna be randomly wearing a patch on a random Tuesday and people are gonna be like, 'She needs to figure out her eye situation'.
"I thought it could be my new thing, but then someone informed me that Madonna did this whole thing with a patch and I was like, 'You know what, I'm gonna leave that alone'."
Kelly hosted the talk show from her home in Los Angeles throughout the summer and chatted with guests virtually. She returned to the studio for Monday's show and greeted a virtual audience of fans, admitting the program has been "a light in such a dark time", revealing she struggled with the COVID-19 lockdown and the break-up of her marriage to manager Brandon Blackstock.
