Kelly Clarkson’s viral conversation with the Brooklyn shopkeeper she accused of being rude to her over the weekend was caught on camera — and now it’s out for the world to see.
Journalist Pablo Torre obtained security footage from the Art of Play in Brooklyn Heights and aired it on Tuesday’s episode of his podcast, “Pablo Torre found out.”
Torre noted that the “American Idol” winner was only in the store for four minutes and 50 seconds, and showed footage of her inside the store wearing a yellow shirt, jeans, a baseball cap and a backpack.
In the footage, Clarkson browses the store and plays with binoculars, before she stumbles upon “Molly”, the rare automaton bird at the center of the scandal.
There is no audio in the footage, but she is seen talking to the shopkeeper about the bird and he is also pointing towards the bird. Their conversation is brief and it is the last time they speak to each other, as he then turns to another customer.
Clarkson then puts on the binoculars she was looking at before leaving the shop. However, before leaving, she turns around and looks angry while standing at the door talking to the man at the cash register in front.
The former talk show host gestures animatedly as other customers turn to look at him. The man at the cash register points out Molly, but Clarkson eventually leaves.
He is then shown taking out his phone outside the store.
Torre said that Clarkson’s casual clothing was similar to that of other customers at the store, suggesting she was not discriminated against based on her attire.
Torre also shared that he has been to the Art of Play before, and confirmed that “Molly” is one of only two in the world – the other is in Seattle with creator, artist Bliss Kolb – and that the handmade bird plays an integral role in the opening act of the magic show that runs in the store.
The feud erupted this weekend when Clarkson dragged Art of Play on social media, accusing an employee of treating her like Julia Roberts’ character in “Pretty Woman” after allegedly assuming she couldn’t afford the mechanical singing bird, which cost $15,000. (The price tag now reads $15 million.)
Clarkson claimed the employee looked her up and down before offering to find her a cheaper alternative, prompting her to call him an “idiot” who had lost a “big sale”.
However, the store hit back, saying that the bird was not actually for sale. He said they offered to show him a different automaton for $2,000 – an offer he did not accept.
Clarkson, 44, accused the store of lying about the exchange, while owners said they tried to contact her in hopes of making improvements.
On Tuesday, Art of Play co-owner Adam Rubin spoke to Page Six, accusing the singer of “reprehensible abuse of power” after her complaints reportedly sparked a flood of online harassment against his small business.
“It’s a pop star, a mechanical bird, it’s surreal. When this thing first started, everyone wanted us to die,” Rubin told us, referring to the hundreds of threatening messages his employees have received since Clarkson dragged his store on social media.
“And as soon as the truth has come out, people realized that this is a condemnable abuse of power,” he said. “We need to rethink the place we give celebrities in our society.”
Sources close to the singer previously told Page Six that Clarkson’s reaction to her experience was out of character for the Grammy winner.
“If she was actually calling out a store publicly, she would have been furious,” an insider told Us. “You know something must have really bothered her because she’s not like that.
“Kelly is truly one of the most down-to-earth people you could ever meet,” the source said. “She’s usually laid-back and really one of the nicest people I’ve ever known.”