A Brooklyn curiosity shop is again attempting to clarify its side of social media drama with Kelly Clarkson.
Clarkson, 44, put New York City’s Art of Play store on blast over the weekend, claiming she was treated like Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman when she inquired about purchasing a $15,000 singing bird ornament, which the store subsequently claimed was not for sale. Per Clarkson’s original Saturday, October 10, post, a store employee “looked at [me] as if [I] couldn’t afford it and was told he could find something comparable for me.”
On Sunday, October 11, the talk show host and American Idol winner accused the store of lying that the item wasn’t for sale, prompting Art of Play to issue another response.
“During the 5 minutes she spent in the store, she inquired about our mechanical bird puppet named Molly,” Art of Play wrote via Instagram. “We explained that while Molly is permanently attached to the wall and serves as a de facto mascot for our shop, 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. We explained all of this to Kelly Clarkson.”
The shop continued, “We also offered to show her 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.”
Despite the apparently crossed wires, the store offered Clarkson a mea culpa.
“We’ve reached out to Kelly directly to try and clear the air,” Art of Play wrote. “We really do wish her the best and hope that someday we can all laugh about this misunderstanding.”
Earlier Sunday, Clarkson responded to Art of Play’s initial statement that claimed the singing bird wasn’t 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,’” she wrote via X. “That all never happened and now it’s not for sale. Okay, cool. So you’re not only rude, you’re also a liar. Got it ✅.”
Clarkson added that she was keen to support the small business during her visit on Saturday.
“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 less than in your store just because you are a small business,” she wrote. “It’s not that hard to be kind. I never blast people but you, my friend, were an exception. Your store is really cool. Unfortunately, you aren’t.”
