Kelly Clarkson Caught in Feud With New York Curiosity Shop

An unlikely New York dispute has erupted between American Idol star Kelly Clarkson and a Brooklyn boutique over an £11,000 singing bird.

The row quickly went viral after Clarkson’s social media account of her experience at the Art of Play store attracted more than 40 million views in just two days.

On Saturday, Clarkson, 44, alleged that a member of staff at the luxury shop treated her as though she could not afford its products. She compared the encounter to a well-known scene from the film Pretty Woman.

The singer initially said she had “drove all the way to Brooklyn” to visit the store, where she had “a few things in mind to buy”.

But after arriving, she claimed she was “looked at as if I couldn’t afford it”.

“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,” Clarkson wrote in her post.

“Wow, dude. You’re an idiot and just lost a huge sale.”

Clarkson then invoked the 1990 film Pretty Woman, in which Julia Roberts plays an unsophisticated sex worker who is dismissively turned away from an upscale shop in a memorable scene.

“But y’all should go check out Art of Play in Brooklyn if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman,” she wrote, ending the post with a thumbs-down emoji.

Fans responded in large numbers with messages of support, while some also targeted the store in comments on its social media pages.

“People saying ‘maybe he didn’t know who Kelly Clarkson was’ are missing the point that they should be treating their customers like everyone is Kelly Clarkson,” one user wrote on X.

Another user criticised the staff member, writing: “I have spent most of my life in sales, and the number one lesson I have learned is that you have no idea what anyone has in their wallet.”

A third person also condemned the store, saying: “No one deserves to be treated like they cannot afford something… my most wealthy clients were some of my least glamorous… Don’t judge a book by the cover I can go on and on.”

Art of Play was subsequently hit by a wave of one-star Google reviews, sending its former five-star rating down to an average of 3.7.

The backlash led Art of Play to challenge the former talk show host’s account in a lengthy Instagram post published on Sunday.

The store explained that Kelly, who moved from LA to New York in 2024, inquired about a not-for-sale item, its store mascot Molly, a singing and dancing bird which is used in magic shows hosted in a small theatre at the back of the store. 

‘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,’ the store shared in their Instagram post. 

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

‘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.’ 

The store thanked ‘friends for their support’ adding a welcome ‘to all the curious folks who have discovered us amidst the drama’.

Quoting Kelly’s famous lyric, it ended the post by writing: ‘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”.’

That wasn’t the end of it though. Incensed by a lack of apology, social media sleuths soon pointed out that a picture of the bird shows a label next to the item that appears to list a price tag of $15,000. 

Battle lines were drawn when others loyal to the store pointed to a pinned September Instagram post on the store’s account which used a photo of Molly the bird to advertise ‘our favourite items not for sale’. 

When Our News Outlet visited the storefront on Sunday afternoon, police were outside. Officers had been summoned to Art of Play at 2.30pm over reports of a disorderly person, and staff were so concerned by the disturbance that they were forced to lock themselves in the store.

Shortly afterwards Kelly doubled down, claiming in another post on social media on Sunday evening that the store was ‘lying’ about the bird not being for sale.

‘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,’ she wrote, sharing the photo of what she said was the price tag. ‘OK cool, so you’re not only rude, you’re also a liar. Got it,’ 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 [as] less than in your store just because you are a small business.

‘It’s not that hard to be kind,’ she concluded, noting: ‘I never blast people, but you my friend, were an exception. Your store is really cool. Unfortunately, you aren’t.’ 

In a response to ‘clarify’ details about Kelly’s visit Art of Play added another Instagram post on Sunday night, insisting staff explained to Kelly that ‘Molly is permanently attached to the wall and serves as a de facto mascot for our shop.’

They added that ‘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.’

The store also said that the star was offered to be shown ‘a different singing bird automaton, made by a traditional clockmaking shop in Germany, that she could have taken home with her that day. It costs about $2,000. She did not stick around long enough to see it.’

Art of Play did, however, say it had reached out to Kelly to ‘clear the air’.

‘We really do wish her the best and hope that someday we can all laugh about this misunderstanding,’ they concluded. 

Art of Play was opened in 2024, the first physical location for a business founded in 2013 by twin brothers Dan and Dave Buck. 

The Buck brothers founded their business after building a following through their card magic and sleight of hand tricks. They opened their store to sell their own designs of playing card decks before expanding into showcasing other artists’ work in ‘an emporium of all things playful’. 

The pair, who perform under the stage name Dan and Dave, performed their card tricks in the 2013 film Now You See Me, which were then edited to look as though the lead character was performing them. 

The store was closed on Monday for the US federal holiday of Columbus Day, but staff spent their day off reposting positive reviews and posts from customers. 

One fan gushed of the store ‘it’s everything you want from a store in a city that becomes tougher and tougher and tougher to live in’. 

Another read in part: ‘I don’t believe [Clarkson’s] story, because I have been to this store many times with my kid and it doesn’t track AT ALL, but even EVEN IF IT DID, a mega celebrity trying to ruin a small business because she thinks someone was rude to her is shameful.’ 

Their Instagram account also shared a series of posts promoting their products and pointing out that they have affordable price points and ‘offer something for everyone’.

‘The median price of an item in our shop is $35,’ the shop says. ‘But we pride ourselves on working directly with talented artisans to curate a collection of rare curiosities hard to find anywhere else in the world. We offer something for everyone.’