At the American Country Music (ACM) awards on Sunday, April 19, Kelly Clarkson was tasked to introduce iconic country singer Reba McEntire, who was one of the recipient of the Milestone Award. The first "American Idol" winner could not help but be enthusiastic about her speech because not only does she look up to McEntire in the business, she's also her mother-in-law.
In her introduction, Clarkson related that when she was younger, she told McEntire amidst a crowd of onlookers that she wanted to be just like her when she grows up. "I would become friends with this legendary woman, but in the most crazy twist of fate, she would become my family," said Clarkson as reported on VH1.
The singer is married to Brandon Blackstock, the stepson of McEntire. Clarkson and her husband are raising a 10-month-old daughter named River Rose. The baby has had some time bonding with her superstar grandmother last Christmas, according to People Magazine.
At last night's event, McEntire received the ACM Milestone Award along with 6 other awardees. In her career spanning over four decades, the "Heartbeat" singer has amassed a total of 13 other ACM awards as a female vocalist. She has also hosted the annual event 14 times.
But what else makes her cool is the fact that she came to her daughter-in-law's defense when Clarkson was subjected to body-shaming. Media personalities like Chris Wallace and Katie Hopkins hurled insults at her as a result of her pregnancy weight. McEntire told Clarkson's critics to "get over it," during a guest appearance on "Watch What Happens Live." She also said that, "Kelly's happier than she has ever been in her life," and asked the public to just be happy for the 32-year-old new mom. This story was detailed by People Magazine earlier.
Meanwhile, backstage after receiving her award, McEntire said nothing but nice things about her daughter-in-law whom she regards as a "great, great person." The singer said that she has been friends with Clarkson since 2002 and that she just "loves her to pieces."
With someone like Reba McEntire on her side, Clarkson could not help but tell the audience that "I have the coolest mother-in-law and you all can suck it!" in her speech. The rest of the moment was capped by McEntire singing a medley of her hits, much to the delight of the audience.
Take another look at that moment when Clarkson introduced the ACM Milestone awardee Reba McEntire in this video:
