Kelly Clarkson tells Howard Stern that Avril Lavigne apologized for elbowing her in the face at the VMAs

Billboard

In a thorough interview this morning with Howard Stern, Clarkson recalled that other musicians didn’t really think she paid her dues because she rose to fame on American Idol. ”I got elbowed in the face by someone I was giving an award to at the VMAs," she recalled, without revealing Lavigne’s name. But the 2002 incident is shown in a YouTube video. And Stern got Clarkson to admit it was Lavigne, who would later pen Clarkson's hit "Breakaway." Clarkson added: “But I will say this: Years later I saw her and she said, 'Oh my gosh, people keep saying I elbowed you in the face and I’m so sorry!' And I don't know... she did it... but I don't know if she felt bad about it, or she didn't mean to do it, or what... but it felt purposeful!" ALSO: Stern got Clarkson to sing “A Moment Like This.”