Don’t call the singer of “Miss Independent” a feminist. In an interview with TIME, Kelly Clarkson says she doesn’t consider herself one.

“I wouldn’t say [I'm a] feminist, that’s too strong. I think when people hear feminist it’s just like, ‘Get out of my way I don’t need anyone,’” she says. “I love that I’m being taken care of, and I have a man that’s an actual leader. I’m not a feminist in that sense … but I’ve worked really hard since I was 19, when I first auditioned for Idol.”

Then again, the former American Idol winner is not afraid of contradictions. After all, she was a Ron Paul supporter but voted for Obama twice. She’s a pop singer, but feels more at home with country-music folks because she thinks they’re nicer. She calls her music “ballsy.” And although she’s just 30 — and it’s only just November — she’s already releasing a Christmas album. “[This] is my favorite album,” she says, “which is hilarious, cause it’s Christmas songs, but it is.”

Clarkson, who recently married, also showed off the copy of Jane Austen’s ring that her now husband Brandon Blackstock had made for her and talked about working with her new stepmother-in-law Reba McEntire.

Select Q&A's...

You’ve just released a Christmas album, Wrapped in Red. Isn’t that something artists do in the twilight of their careers?
Yeah, greatest-hits albums too. But a Christmas album is fun because you don’t get labeled anything. So there’s rock ’n’ roll on there, there’s R&B, there’s country, there’s pop stuff. I have a hard time being cheesy, but you can be cheesy with Christmas music, so I felt I could be vulnerable. It’s my favorite album.

In the 10 years since you broke out, female singers have dominated the charts, but they’ve also become more provocative. How have you resisted that?
There’ve always been women in the industry who have pushed the envelope — Cher, Madonna, Annie Lennox. I don’t think anything different is going on. People say, “Oh, you never go for the whole sex-appeal thing.” Well, I don’t ever not go for it, either. I just go for who I am. People in the industry have tried douche moves with me, but of course they’re going to, because they make money when girls do that.

Do you have any advice for Miley Cyrus?
I honestly don’t, because we’re nothing alike — I wasn’t a child star. I have no idea what her life was like or what she goes through.

Are you saying people in country are nicer than people in pop?
I am absolutely 100% saying that … And I love pop music and the people in pop music.

Let me get this straight: Reba is your stepmother-in-law. And she’s married to your manager. And you sang with her on this album?
It doesn’t really weird me out that she’s my mother-in-law, ’cause we’ve been friends for years. Although I guess that’s weird. She has seen me at my worst, my best, my awkward moments; she knows I say everything that’s in my head. She’s really been helpful in my career. It is very incestuous, though.


Read more: Kelly Clarkson in TIME Interview: 'Not a Feminist' | TIME.com http://entertainment.time.com/2013/1...#ixzz2jH03P74R

I love her.

This isn't going to go well. 2nd post

I understand what she's trying to say, but a woman having a "get out of my way, I don't need anyone" attitude isn't what being a feminist is even if many people think of that extreme when they hear the word. In fact, one doesn't need to be a female to be a feminist. It's just being supportive of and progressive about women's rights, which I'm sure she is.

Lorde's gonna get her

There's a video at the source where Kelly literally said that, but of course Time cut that part out of the print interview. She said some people have that idea of feminist and that's sad because that's not what it's about. She doesn't agree with that type of extreme mentality that some have and that's why she doesn't call herself that.

You know what

I find it really sad that some women are afraid to label themselves as feminists because of the fear they'll be associated with the extremists.

So in other words, shes not a feminist. She hails men, she loves men, she celebrates American male culture right?

Another woman that's afraid to use the word feminist.

I figured that it was edited to make it seem more "controversial," but I still don't think she should be ashamed to call herself a feminist. It reminds me of some other interview where I think she felt the need to explain her decision to vote for Obama because she didn't want conservative audiences to think she's some strange liberal hippie.

really, this is her favorite album????

best response

I hate that she would choose to say that she is not a feminist just because she knows people have a negative and ignorant perception of feminists. It's more effective to educate people about what feminism is rather than just publicly rejecting it because of what people will think of you....

To me it sounds like she supports feminist ideals (even if not living up to all of them) but doesn't like the connotation the word "feminist" holds ("get out of my way, I don't need anyone") to most people and thinks people would misunderstand her if she labeled herself one. Which is somewhat understandable, but I think it just furthers the notion that feminists just hate men and so on. If more young people had positive role models who championed feminism and feminist ideals I think more people would learn what feminism actually is and would, in turn, support it.