KELLY CLARKSON TO VOTE FOR OBAMA OVER GAY MARRIAGE

Pop singer Kelly Clarkson has said she is likely to vote for Barack Obama for president because he supports same-sex marriage rights.

“I’ve been reading online about the debates and I’m probably going to vote for Obama again, even though I’m a Republican at heart,” she told The Daily Star.

“I can’t support Romney’s policies as I have a lot of gay friends and I don’t think it’s fair they can’t get married. I’m not a hardcore feminist but we can’t be going back to the 50s.

“Obama is a great guy. I’ve met him and I’m a fan of Michelle too. She has been busy promoting better education and healthy diets, which is something we could all use a dose of reality on,” the 30-year-old performer said.

Last year December, Clarkson tweeted that she was a supporter of Republican candidate Ron Paul, who has since dropped out of the presidential race. Paul, like Obama’s opponent Mitt Romney, is also opposed to same sex marriage.

That statement resulted in widespread criticism from Clarkson’s LGBT fans. She later tweeted that she didn’t know that he had “said anything against gay people”.

Clarkson found fame when she won the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002. She has since sold more than 25 million albums worldwide.