Kelly Clarkson’s bizarre social media feud with New York store explained as CCTV released

Some new, albeit random, celebrity beef has been going viral, and this time it's between Kelly Clarkson and a store in New York.

Taking to X on Saturday (October 10), the singer described her customer experience at Art of Play, a curiosity shop in Brooklyn, where she claimed she was treated like "Julia Roberts' character in Pretty Woman."

"Just drove all the way to Brooklyn to check out this store I thought looked really rad and had a few things in mind to buy and literally was looked at as if I couldn’t afford it and was told he could find something comparable for me. Wow, dude. You’re an idiot and just lost a huge sale."

Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for SiriusXM

She concluded, "But y’all should go check out Art of Play in Brooklyn if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman. For sure, check it out."

Art of Play release statement in response to Clarkson's claims

Since then Art of Play has taken to Instagram to respond to Clarkson's claims, insisting that that she had inquired about something that was not for sale.

"Yesterday, Kelly Clarkson visited us in Brooklyn and inquired about buying 'Molly' a one-of-a-kind singing and dancing bird automaton who plays an important role in the magic shows we host here," they wrote in a statement.

They noted that the bird is "permanently attached to the wall and isn’t for sale," adding, "However, the negative experience Kelly described on twitter would resonate with anyone who has ever felt judged in a shop.

The store noted "whether someone comes in to make a purchase or simply look around for a while, they are equally welcome," where customers are invited to "pick things up and play."

"Imagine our surprise when our small local business was suddenly attacked by 8 million people who have never visited our store. It’s been a surreal experience to be the focus of such widespread outrage after just one mention by a celebrity."

To finish, the store went on to thank their friends "for their support and welcome to all the curious folks who have discovered us amidst the drama."

"We’re going to keep our heads down and hopefully, we can clear things up with Kelly someday. As a talented popular singer once said 'what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger'," referencing Clarkson's 2011 hit song 'Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)'.

Clarkson hits back at Art of Play's response

After Art of Play's statement, Clarkson doubled down on her experience as she once again took to X to share more details, accusing the store of being "rude" and a "liar".

"Cool, cool. Sure, it wasn’t for sale. That’s the narrative Art of Play is gonna go with so the whole conversation we had when I asked you if it was for sale whilst pointing to the price tag hanging on the wall with the title Singing Bird didn’t happen as you elevator eyed me saying in a condescending tone 'yes, it’s for sale but it costs 15,000 dollars so if you’d like me to find something comparable for you I can.' That all never happened and now it’s not for sale. Okay, cool. So you’re not only rude, you’re also a liar. Got it ," she wrote.

On the topic of small business, she continued, "And by the way, I obviously support small businesses because I was literally at a small business trying to purchase things. I love small businesses and know they are important and I always support them, but you don’t get a free pass to treat people less than in your store just because you are a small business. It’s not that hard to be kind. I never blast people but you my friend were an exception. Your store is really cool. Unfortunately, you aren’t."

Art of Play release new statement providing "additional details"

On Monday (October 12), Art of Play have since released a new statement where they wanted to "clarify some additional details about Kelly Clarkson’s visit."

"During the 5 minutes she spent in the store, she inquired about our mechanical bird puppet named Molly. We explained that while Molly is permanently attached to the wall and serves as a de facto mascot for our shop, a nearly identical automaton is owned by the creator of the machines, a brilliant artist named Bliss Kolb who lives in Seattle. He told us he would be willing to part with Molly’s twin for $15,000. We explained all of this to Kelly Clarkson," the statement says.

They also claimed to have shown Clarkson different singing bird automaton she "could've taken home that day" worth $2,000" but say "She did not stick around long enough to see it."

The store concluded their statement by saying, "We’ve reached out to Kelly directly to try and clear the air. We really do wish her the best and hope that someday we can all laugh about this misunderstanding."

Bird at center of feud is now priced at $15 million

In another twist in the feud between Clarkson and Art of Play, the mechanical bird has now been priced at $15 million by the shop.

“As you’ve noticed, we’ve raised the price due to popular demand.” co-owner Adam Rubin told New York magazine’s Curbed.

He went on to call the controversy with the singer “an insane misunderstanding,” adding, “nothing happened in this shop to justify her scolding our shopkeeper on the way out, but I can let that go… things changed when she used her platform to attack us. It’s asymmetrical social warfare.”

Since the online beef, Rubin has shared how this has allegedly impacted the shop in real life.

“They’re shouting, they’re screaming,” he explained. “They show up, they shout, ‘You’re racially profiling Kelly Clarkson!’ This was out on the sidewalk, so neighbors called the police, and when they filmed the neighbors their followers doxxed the neighbors… Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger.”

“I want to be very clear about this,” noted Rubin. “Nobody who has ever visited this store in person is taking Kelly Clarkson’s side.”

Footage of Clarkson's store visit released

This feud has no signs of dying down, particularly when footage showing Clarkson's visit has been circulating online with people debating who is in the right and who is in the wrong.

The footage was acquired and released by Pablo Torre, the host and executive editor of the investigative podcast, “Pablo Torre Finds Out.”

There was no audio with the footage so we can't hear what was said, but the video shows Clarkson, who is sporting a bright yellow T-shirt, baggy jeans, baseball cap and a backpack, enter the store with her two children.

The singer can be seen browsing the picking up items, and another angle shows her in front of the automaton bird as she then talks to the store employee as the two can be seen speaking while the employee points at something by the bird, it's not clear what this is.

Indy100 has reached out to Kelly Clarkson's representatives and Art of Play for comment.

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