Kelly Clarkson Reveals She's ‘Stronger' After Years of Bullying by Record Producer

Since winning American Idol in 2002, Kelly Clarkson’s hits haven’t stopped comin’. But what we didn’t know is that she took some pretty harsh verbal hits behind the scenes.

Yep, the “Since U Been Gone” singer revealed in a recent interview with Variety that she and producer Clive Davis clashed many times when he was her producer during his tenure at RCA.

“A group of men thought it was OK to sit around a young woman and bully her. I was told I should shut up and sing,” Clarkson told Variety. She even said Davis tried to denounce My December, aka her uber-successful album that eventually went platinum.

Thankfully, Clarkson is now signed with a new record company, Atlantic Records, and is set to release a new album, Meaning of Life, on October 27.

“It’s just the first record I’ve made that I didn’t call my mother, wanting to quit,” she said of making her new album. “And I’m not a baby, y’all. I’m strong. There are songs about it! I’m a very powerful, confident woman, but at the same time, you just feel beaten down.”

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Get it, Miss Independent.

RELATED: Watch Kelly Clarkson Help a Fan Propose (Warning: It’s Beyond Adorable)