Newly released security footage captures Kelly Clarkson’s visit to the Art of Play store in Brooklyn, documenting the encounter that later spiraled into a bitter online dispute.
The 44-year-old singer is seen browsing the curiosity shop in footage obtained by Pablo Torre. She appears to ask about Molly, a mechanical bird valued at $15,000 that the store says was never available for purchase.
The silent video shows Clarkson entering in a gray baseball cap, yellow T-shirt, blue jeans and a backpack before looking around at the store’s unusual collection.
She eventually walks over to the mechanical bird and appears to speak with a shopkeeper whom she later called an “idiot” during an online rant.
The shopkeeper appears to gesture toward something as Clarkson watches, before the pair move in opposite directions. He later points toward another item while looking back at her, although Clarkson has turned away.
Clarkson then returns an item she had seemingly considered purchasing to its shelf. She appears to raise complaints about the shopkeeper to a busy cashier before walking out of the store.
Newly surfaced security footage captures Kelly Clarkson, 44, inside Brooklyn’s Art of Play store during the interaction that later sparked an ugly online feud
Adam Rubin, the Brooklyn storeowner at the center of the dispute, said Clarkson delivered a parting message as she left, allegedly shouting at staff and promising never to return before taking her complaints online.
Rubin, 43, told Our News Outlet on Tuesday that he had been expected to recover from skin-cancer removal surgery. Instead, he rushed to his Art of Play store to manage the fallout from the singer’s weekend outburst.
The dispute began Saturday, when Clarkson used social media to criticize the art and magic store. She claimed staff assumed she “couldn’t afford” Molly, the mechanical bird displayed prominently behind the cashier.
Art of Play maintains that the bird was never for sale.
In an interview with Our News Outlet, Rubin has now shared more about the public exchange between the store and the singer.
He also criticized Clarkson for bringing widespread attention to the shop while leaving it vulnerable to backlash from her supporters.
“None of us are supposed to be here today, especially me. I had cancer removed from my face last week, and I’m getting the stitches removed tonight.
“But we are afraid for the safety of our shopkeepers.”
The footage obtained by Pablo Torre shows Clarkson asking about Molly, a $15,000 mechanical bird displayed inside the Brooklyn curiosity shop
At the end of the clip, Clarkson appears to complain about the shopkeeper to a busy cashier before leaving
Businessman Adam Rubin, whose Brooklyn curiosity shop Art of Play was criticized by Kelly Clarkson after staff declined to sell her Molly, a $15,000 ornamental bird, on Saturday; Molly is displayed on the wall behind Rubin
Rubin has been receiving treatment for skin cancer and said Clarkson’s meltdown has put his staff in danger
Clarkson, 44, flew into a rage on X on Saturday after a staffer at the curiosity shop refused to sell her a mechanical bird ornament named Molly that adorns one of its walls.
The American Idol winner likened her treatment to that of Vivian Ward, the fictional prostitute played by Julia Roberts in 1990 romantic comedy Pretty Woman, who was kicked out of a designer clothing store in Beverly Hills over her risqué attire.
Clarkson wrote: ‘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. But y’all should go check out Art of Play in Brooklyn if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman.’
A $15,000 price tag has long sat beside Molly on the wall of the store.
Supporters of Clarkson said seeing such a tag on an item she was then told she could not buy may have been the source of the star’s anger.
Art of Play previously said that price tag was for an identical ornament that is not on display.
On Tuesday, Rubin continued to maintain that Molly was not for sale, despite the price tag, which has been updated in the wake of the scandal to call the mechanical creature ‘the world’s most famous singing bird automata!’
Clarkson took to X on Saturday to complain her treatment at Art of Play had left her feeling like Vivian Ward, the prostitute played by Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman
In one iconic scene from the 1990 romcom Roberts (pictured in character) is ejected from an upscale Beverly Hills boutique over her risqué attire
Molly is seen on display at Art of Play on Tuesday. Confusingly, a $15,000 price tag has long been affixed to the wall next to her
That price tag has since been updated to reflect Molly’s newfound fame. Art of Play staff insisted Molly was not for sale despite the price tag and said they’d have been happy to direct Clarkson to the artist behind the ornament should she wish to commission her own
Art of Play previously insisted they’d have been happy to direct Clarkson to Molly’s Seattle-based creator Bliss Kolb if she wished to commission a similar ornament.
Rubin told Our News Outlet on Tuesday that he blames Clarkson for the chaos that has engulfed his business since and said the talk show host knew exactly what she was doing when she put him ‘on blast.’
‘Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger,’ Rubin said. ‘We have gotten threatening phone calls, threatening text messages.
‘We’ve been review-bombed. We’re getting harassed on social media.
‘People are showing up and screaming outside of the shop. Our neighbors are getting doxed.
‘Somebody posted something in support of us online and they’re getting attacked by trolls.
‘We had no idea this could happen, but here’s the thing: Kelly Clarkson did, and she chose to do it anyway.’
Rubin suggested Clarkson’s behavior smacked of entitlement and that she had turned an ‘enormous misunderstanding’ into a ‘reprehensible abuse of power’ with her social media flameout.
Art of Play sits in Brooklyn and has been backed by locals who love the store and its staff
‘When you have the platform, fame, money, and power that she has, you can’t just try to squash somebody like a bug and expect everybody to give you a pass,’ Rubin added.
The store owner, who also writes children’s books, went on to accuse Clarkson of showing a flash of diva-like behavior as she exited his store at the weekend.
He said she ‘yelled at the shopkeeper on her way out the door.’
‘As she was leaving, she said, “You know, I’m never coming here again.”,’ he went on.
Locals have rushed to back Rubin in the wake of the storm, with multiple Brooklyn-ites telling Our News Outlet on Monday that they stood firmly behind him and his business.
One said, who asked not to be named, said: ‘I mean, it actually could not have happened to nicer people. I’ve been coming here for years. I’m friends with the owners.
‘The whole thing is ridiculous, and for a celebrity to weaponize her platform of 8 million people on Instagram, 8 million on Twitter, to a tiny, little, independently owned store, owned and run by magicians.’
Clarkson posted this rant to X on Saturday afternoon, with Art of Play quickly engulfed by criticism as a result
Art of Play later took to Instagram to condemn Clarkson and insist that Molly was not for sale
An irate Clarkson responded to Art of Play, insisting that she was right to be annoyed and maintaining that she is a staunch supporter of small businesses
Online sleuths quickly spotted the price tag next to Molly – and questioned whether Clarkson’s anger had actually been justified
Rubin said his staff are ‘rattled,’ but also bemused that Molly has become the unexpected star of Clarkson’s online meltdown.
The bird is usually the centerpiece of magic theatre shows laid on by the store.
He joked that Molly’s value has increased one-thousand-fold in the wake of Clarkson’s meltdown.
‘She is currently, and probably for the rest of time, the most famous automaton in the world.
‘I think what we would do is…maybe if somebody buys her for $15 million, we’ll give $15,000 to all the shopkeepers.
‘Give Bliss a million dollars. Build a little case. Buy some old antique automaton.
‘You can do a lot of you can do a lot with $15m.
‘Kelly Clarkson would know.’
Clarkson shot to stardom after winning the first season of American Idol in 2002.
She enjoyed a successful singing career, with hits including Miss Independent and Since U Been Gone.
She launched a successful talk show on NBC in 2019, with The Kelly Clarkson Show ending in August 2026, so she could spend more time with her family.
Clarkson was married to talent manager Brandon Blackstock between 2013 and 2022.
Blackstock, who was the father of Clarkson’s children, died of skin cancer aged just 48 in August 2025.
The Daily Mail has contacted a representative of Kelly Clarkson for comment.
