Outspoken Sunny Hostin is facing backlash after calling Kelly Clarkson “petty” and accusing the singer of throwing a “tantrum” during her dispute with a Brooklyn magic shop.
Clarkson, 44, became involved in a public disagreement with Art of Play last week after the Brooklyn store declined to sell her a mechanical bird ornament called Molly, which is displayed on one of its walls.
The “Since U Been Gone” singer expressed her anger in a post on X on Saturday. She compared the experience to that of Vivian Ward, the fictional character portrayed by Julia Roberts in the 1990 romantic comedy Pretty Woman, who is turned away from a Beverly Hills designer store because of her revealing clothing.
Art of Play replied that the bird was not for sale. Store owner Adam Rubin later criticized Clarkson in an interview with Our News Outlet, alleging that the incident created turmoil for his business and left staff members “in danger.”
The dispute has now drawn comment from The View co-host Sunny Hostin.
Hostin criticized Clarkson for publicly naming the store, arguing that having a large audience carries “a responsibility” not to unleash a “social media mob” against other people.
Her remarks quickly spread online and prompted a wave of criticism from viewers and social media users.
During Thursday’s episode of The View, Hostin joined co-hosts Raven-Symoné and Sara Haines to discuss the latest developments in the dispute.
Sunny Hostin has faced backlash after describing Kelly Clarkson as “petty” and accusing her of throwing a “tantrum” during the singer’s feud with a Brooklyn magic store.
Kelly Clarkson, 44, became embroiled in a public dispute with Art of Play after the store refused to sell her a mechanical bird ornament named Molly, which hangs on one of its walls.
After the program aired a clip in which Rubin said he was “afraid for the safety of his shopkeepers” and claimed Clarkson had “put them in danger,” Raven-Symoné dismissed the argument.
“Kelly put you in danger? That’s the internet. The internet goes crazy when somebody says something,” she said.
“Kelly didn’t say, ‘Go attack them.’ I read the tweet. I can’t believe he blamed her for that. That’s not what she did.”
She added: “She didn’t send a mob out to you. The mob was already on the internet, ready to retaliate for any reason.”
Hostin, however, took a different view of the situation.
“When you have a huge platform, a lot of responsibility comes with that,” she argued.
“I think she’s got eight million or more followers. I can’t imagine that she doesn’t know there’s that social media mob hanging out on the internet.”
Hostin then accused Clarkson of having a “tantrum” after viewing security footage from her visit to the store.
The “Since U Been Gone” singer posted an angry message on X on Saturday, comparing her treatment to that of Vivian Ward, the fictional prostitute played by Julia Roberts in the 1990 romantic comedy Pretty Woman, who is ejected from a Beverly Hills designer store over her risqué outfit.
Art of Play said the bird was not for sale, while owner Adam Rubin accused Clarkson of causing chaos at his business and putting staff members “in danger” during an interview with Our News Outlet.
‘It seems like she kind of had a bit of a tantrum because she starts putting things back kind of quickly,’ she said.
‘She wasn’t in the store very long. The fact that she would then take to [X] and say…’ she trailed off, before Raven-Symoné interjected: ‘She was petty.’
‘She was a little petty,’ Hostin agreed.
Sara Haines then asked her co-hosts: ‘Do you think having a massive following disqualifies you from being able to say, “Hey that was rude?”‘
‘I think you have to use your platform appropriately,’ Hostin doubled down.
‘I think it’s unfair that just because she has that many followers she’s not allowed to express how she feels about what happened to her,’ Raven-Symoné argued.
After The View’s official X account posted a clip of their discussion online, it sparked a fierce debate.
Some people agreed with Hostin’s take, but many bashed her for her comments.
‘Shocked by Sunny’s comments. “A tantrum?” She calmly put back items she was ready to buy…’ one user wrote.
‘You b***hes saying she had a temper tantrum just because she put things back, slowly…’ another slammed.
‘Actually, Sunny, putting things back that she was not buying was a gracious thing to do,’ someone else penned. ‘She did not dump them in one spot. She put them back where she found them.’
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‘Sunny – she placed things back. Why is her putting things back where they belong throwing a tantrum?’ asked a different user.
On Saturday, 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.
During Thursday’s episode of The View, Hostin and co-hosts Raven-Symoné and Sara Haines discussed the latest update in the saga
The View co-host Hostin weighed in on the incident and she slammed Clarkson for calling the store out publicly, insisting that ‘when you have a huge platform’ it comes with ‘a responsibility’ to not unleash a ‘social media mob’ on others
‘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.
On Sunday, Art of Play responded to Clarkson’s tweet, saying that Molly the bird ‘plays an important role’ at the store’s magic show, and thus ‘is permanently attached to the wall and isn’t for sale.’
‘It’s been a surreal experience to be the focus of such widespread outrage after just one mention by a celebrity,’ the store said in an Instagram post.
‘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.”‘
The store 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.
But things got messier when Clarkson blasted Art of Play in another post for spinning a ‘narrative’ around what had actually happened.
‘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,’ Clarkson said on X.
‘Okay, cool. So you’re not only rude, you’re also a liar. Got it.’
On Tuesday, Rubin continued to maintain that Molly was not for sale.
Adam Rubin, a co-owner of Art of Play, said the store has received thousands of threats and ‘hateful messages’
He told Our News Outlet 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.
‘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.
Leaked security footage showed the moment Clarkson got into a furious argument with the shopkeeper.
Clarkson walks into the store wearing a grey baseball hat, yellow T-shirt, baggy blue jeans and a backpack, before browsing various items.
The American Idol winner, who was in the shop for only four minutes and 50 seconds, then approaches the mechanical bird and appears to speak with a shopkeeper, whom she later called an ‘idiot’ in an online rant.
He seems to point something out to Clarkson, before they walk in opposite directions. The shopkeeper later appears to point out something else while looking back at her, but she has her back turned.
Clarkson is then seen returning an item she had seemingly considered buying to the shelf, before appearing to voice her complaints about the shopkeeper to a busy cashier while gesticulating with her arms and leaving the store.
