- Kelly Clarkson tweeted she was looked down on at Brooklyn shop Art of Play while eyeing an animatronic bird named Molly.
- Art of Play said Molly is permanently attached and not for sale, denied parts of Clarkson's account, and felt unfairly attacked by millions.
- Clarkson pushed back, posting a photo of a $15,000 tag; owners said a twin could be sold, then said the price rose to $15 million.
- Co-owner Adam Rubin said Clarkson's post put the small shop in danger, leading to threats, review-bombing, and trolls attacking supporters.
- CCTV footage without audio reignited debate; viewers split, Clarkson's massive reach dwarfs the shop, and reconciliation seems unlikely.
If you've been on the internet in the past few days, you've likely not been able to avoid the constant memes, updates, and opinions about Kelly Clarkson's feud with a Brooklyn store over an animatronic bird. (Yes, that is a real sentence about a thing that, in fact, happened.) What may have started out as a misunderstanding has spiraled into numerous articles, interviews, and even an accusation that the American Idol alum put a small business "in danger." If you're lost but want the latest drama dividing the internet, let us get you caught up.
Kelly Clarkson Brooklyn store dispute
On October 10, Clarkson tweeted, "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."
She added sarcastically, "But y'all should go check out Art of Play in Brooklyn if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts character in Pretty woman."
At first, the store denied some portions of Clarkson's account. The bird, which is named 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,” the store wrote in an Instagram story.
Art of Play wrote that everyone who enters the store is "equally welcome," and expressed surprise "when our small local business was suddenly attacked by 8 million people who have never visited our store." The owners thanked their supporters and expressed a desire to "clear things up with Kelly one day." The statement closed with a cheeky tribute: "As a talented popular singer once said ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger."
That didn't quash things, however. Clarkson fired back on X and accused Art of Play of lying. The talk show host said the bird did, in fact, have a price tag and accused one of the store's employees of speaking to her condescendingly.
"That all never happened and now it’s not for sale," she wrote. "Okay, cool. So you’re not only rude, you’re also a liar."
So wait...is Molly the animatronic bird for sale or not?
This part of the story is still up for debate. In Clarkson's rebuttal, she included a picture that appears to show a $15,000 price tag next to the singing bird.
That prompted the store to make a second Instagram post. In it, the store wrote that they had told the singer Molly is one of only two automatons ever made by a private artist. They said the artist "would be willing to part with Molly's twin for $15,000," and they explained this to Clarkson. They offered to show her a different bird priced at $2,000. Clarkson "did not stick around long enough to see it."
In an interview with Curbed, Adam Rubin, one of Art of Play's three co-owners, said, "So many people asked about it that we had put a price on it, but we talked to the creator when he came to fix the machine, and if someone showed serious interest, we would reach out to him about getting them an automaton. As you’ve noticed, we’ve raised the price due to popular demand. It now costs $15 million."
And back in September — well before Clarkson's trip — the store posted a photo of Molly on its Instagram to introduce a roundup of "our favorite items not for sale." But the bird wasn't actually named in the list, which featured theoretical experiences like "solving a puzzle."
So the answer is: Technically, you can buy it (or a version of it), though it's priced outside most budgets at $15 million. If you want one now, your best bet is to contact the artist, Seattle-based Bliss Kolb — though Kolb may be lying low. They have not returned NBC's requests for comment on the situation.
Art of Play owner accuses Kelly Clarkson of putting store "in danger"
In an interview, Rubin shared some harsh words for the celebrity.
"Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger," he said. "People are getting threatened on the street, and the worst part is we didn’t know this was going to happen but Kelly Clarkson did. Anyone who expresses admiration, positivity, or sympathy for Art of Play is getting attacked by trolls."
Rubin added that the store's friends and fans are "getting attacked," and said, "we're concerned on behalf of our shopkeepers." He said the store has been getting review-bombed and anyone defending it is getting attacked on social media.
Kelly Clarkson store footage
On Oct. 13, journalist and podcaster Pablo Torre released what appears to be CCTV footage from Clarkson's trip to the store. The footage has no audio, so it's become a Rorschach test as viewers try to read body language to decide which account best matches reality.
We can see that the store had a good number of people in it, which supports what Rubin said in an interview. There's also a moment where a woman who appears to be Clarkson puts down several items she was holding and exchanges words with an employee behind a counter before leaving.
Fans have pointed out that Clarkson does not have a reputation for being rude or entitled, and put her career on hold to take care of her ex-husband as he battled skin cancer, even though the two had been involved in a bitter legal dispute during their divorce.
Others say that Clarkson's outsized influence (she has 8.8 million Twitter followers compared to Art of Play's 175,000 on Instagram) means that she was punching down on a small business from the start.
If the CCTV is anything to go by, Art of Play may have lost a sale in this interaction — and judging by the unrelenting argument, they don't seem likely to make up soon.
