Kelly Clarkson’s £152,450 Jane Austen Ring Blocked by Export Ban

Kelly Clarkson’s dispute with a New York curiosity shop continues to attract attention, but it is not the first time the singer’s taste for expensive purchases has led to an unexpected setback. Her Saturday social media complaint about the Art of Play store, following an attempt to buy an £11,000 singing bird, has been viewed by more than 40 million people. In 2012, the American Idol winner—whose fortune is estimated at £45 million—spent £152,450 on a ring once owned by Jane Austen, only to be prevented from taking it home to the United States. A devoted Austen fan and owner of a first edition of Persuasion, Clarkson spotted the gold-and-turquoise ring at a Sotheby’s auction in London. She outbid eight other prospective buyers, paying five times its estimated value. Before the ring could leave the UK, however, then-culture minister Ed Vaizey placed an export ban on it. The purchase was subsequently referred to an Arts Council England committee, which oversees the export of objects considered national treasures.

The temporary export restriction gave Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton, Hampshire, time to launch its “Bring the Ring Home” campaign. Donations arrived from around the world, including an anonymous £100,000 contribution matching the price paid by the American star. The fundraising effort allowed the museum to acquire the ring, which remains on display alongside the only two other surviving pieces of jewellery known to have belonged to Austen. Clarkson ultimately settled for a replica and responded graciously, saying she was “happy to know that so many Jane Austen fans will get to see” the original at the museum. She also described it as a “beautiful national treasure”.

More than a decade later, Clarkson’s attention turned to a singing bird during a shopping trip in her home city of New York on Saturday. In a viral post, she claimed that an employee at Brooklyn’s Art of Play boutique treated her as though she could not afford the store’s products, comparing the experience to a well-known scene from Pretty Woman. Clarkson said she had “drove all the way to Brooklyn” after seeing the shop online and had “a few things in mind to buy”. Instead, she wrote, she was “looked at as if I couldn’t afford it” and told the employee could find something comparable for her. “Wow, dude. You’re an idiot and just lost a huge sale,” she added. Referring to the 1990 film, in which Julia Roberts’ character is dismissively turned away from an upscale shop, Clarkson urged followers to visit Art of Play “if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman”. She ended the post with a thumbs-down emoji. Supporters quickly rallied behind the singer, directing criticism at the store through its social media pages. Art of Play also received a flood of one-star Google reviews, causing its previous five-star rating to fall to a 3.7 average. On Tuesday, security footage from inside the store was released.

The footage, obtained by journalist Pablo Torre, shows Clarkson entering the shop in a grey baseball cap, yellow T-shirt, loose blue jeans and a backpack before browsing the merchandise. The American Idol winner remained inside for four minutes and 50 seconds. She then approached the mechanical bird and appeared to speak with a shopkeeper—the same employee she later called an “idiot” in her online complaint. He appeared to point something out to her before the pair walked in opposite directions. Later, the shopkeeper seemed to indicate another item while looking back at Clarkson, who had her back turned. She was then seen returning a product to the shelf before appearing to complain about the employee to a busy cashier, gesturing as she left the store. Torre noted that Clarkson’s clothing was similar to that of other shoppers, suggesting she may not have been singled out because of her appearance, as she had previously claimed. The Brooklyn store owner at the center of the row said the singer made a parting statement as she left, shouting at staff and promising never to return before taking her complaint online.

Adam Rubin, 43, told Our News Outlet on Tuesday that he had been recovering from surgery to remove skin cancer when he was forced to rush to his Art of Play shop in Brooklyn to manage the fallout from the singer’s weekend outburst. In earlier social media posts, the store said Clarkson had asked about Molly, its singing and dancing bird mascot, which is used during magic shows in a small theatre at the rear of the shop. “Molly is permanently attached to the wall and isn’t for sale,” the store said. It added, however, that the negative experience Clarkson described online was something many shoppers would recognise. “Imagine our surprise when our small local business was suddenly attacked by 8 million people who have never visited our store,” the post continued. “It’s been a surreal experience to be the focus of such widespread outrage after just one mention by a celebrity.” The shop thanked its supporters and welcomed “all the curious folks who have discovered us amidst the drama”. Clarkson later escalated the dispute in another social media post on Sunday evening, accusing the store of “lying” about the bird not being available for purchase and insisting that she has always supported small businesses.