Kelly Clarkson has been at the target of immense heat following a curio shop dispute that escalated into a full-blown public feud after Clarkson called out the small business for allegedly giving her “Pretty Woman treatment”. Art of Play, a small Brooklyn-based curiosity shop known for its unique collection of trinkets, repeatedly attempted to clear the air, but it looks like they have been receiving tons of hate on social media from Clarkson’s die-hard fans.
With security footage of the singer’s visit surfacing, the store’s co-owner has publicly demanded an apology over alleged threats directed at the business and its staff. The store says Clarkson’s online rant was a “reprehensible abuse of power” from a public figure.
Security footage captures Kelly Clarkson’s visit to Brooklyn store
The footage, obtained by Pablo Torre and featured on Pablo Torre Finds Out, reportedly shows Clarkson spending approximately four minutes and 50 seconds inside Art of Play Brooklyn. During the visit, the singer can be seen browsing and briefly discussing a mechanical singing bird known as Molly. Before leaving, Clarkson appears to gesture toward the front counter. She is also seen using her phone outside the store.
However, the footage has a significant limitation. It contains no audio. While it documents parts of Clarkson’s visit, it cannot establish what was said between the singer and the store’s employees or verify either side’s account of the disputed exchange. The singer seemingly appears upset and angry as she stands in the shop’s corner.
The disagreement centers on Molly, a rare mechanical bird with a reported price tag of USD 15,000. Clarkson previously described an uncomfortable interaction with a staff member, alleging that she was looked up and down and steered toward a less expensive item in a way that reminded her of the treatment Julia Roberts’ character receives in Pretty Woman.
The store has disputed her characterization of the encounter. According to its account, Molly was attached to a wall and was not available as a straightforward purchase. The shop says an employee offered Clarkson another automaton priced at USD 2,000. Addressing the alleged Pretty Woman treatment, the co-owner said:
“Everybody that comes into the store is treated the same, like a normal person. That’s what pissed her off… She was treated like everybody else who comes in, whether they’re in sweatpants or they’re 9 years old, or they’re a celebrity we don’t recognize. They all get treated the same way.”
Clarkson subsequently accused the store of lying about what happened. Art of Play Brooklyn, meanwhile, has maintained that its account differs from hers and said it reached out in an effort to resolve the dispute.
Store co-owner demands apology from Kelly Clarkson over alleged threats from her fans
Beyond the disagreement over Molly, Rubin has raised concerns about the alleged fallout from Clarkson’s public comments. He claims the store and its employees have faced a barrage of hostile messages, calls, and texts since the controversy gained attention.
He has also alleged that people tracked employees online and targeted the shop’s staff and neighbors with personal information. Speaking to Page Six via New York Post, Rubin revealed the grueling 72 hours since the controversy. He told the outlet:
“It’s been so intense – thousands of hateful phone calls, thousands of hateful text messages, Kelly Clarkson fans demanding we issue her an apology, and it’s just such a perverse distortion of reality that anyone could look at the situation and think that we are the ones who owe an apology.”
Rubin urged that the singer should be held accountable for the consequences of the controversy. He shared, “It’s a pop star, a mechanical bird, it’s surreal. When this thing first started, everybody wanted us to die.”
Describing Clarkson’s actions as “reprehensible abuse of power,” the co-owner has called for an apology and questioned the influence celebrities wield when they publicly criticize smaller businesses. Rubin told the outlet:
“As the truth has come to light, thinking people realize this is reprehensible abuse of power. We have to reconsider the place we give celebrities in our society.”
Rubin believes that Kelly was well aware of how her online rant could impact the store and employees, given her popularity. The children’s book author says, “We didn’t know this was gonna happen, but Kelly Clarkson did, and she needs to be held accountable for her actions… I know there’s a lot of people out there that have known Kelly Clarkson – ‘known her’ in a parasocial relationship – for 20 years.”
The shop’s comments frame the dispute as more than a disagreement over a luxury collectible. The conflict has now developed into two overlapping disputes regarding what exactly happened during Clarkson’s visit and what the store says followed after the feud became public.
Do you think Kelly Clarkson may have overreacted to a misunderstanding with Art of Play Brooklyn? Let us know your opinions.
Image courtesy: NY Post, Pablo Torre Finds Out/YouTube, Kelly Clarkson/Instagram
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