Wow! Buckle up, bird.
Brooklyn shop co-owner Kelly Clarkson The weekend bombshell is opening up about the experience she and her colleagues endured following that unfortunate tweet — and she’s not happy about it! Makes sense. But first, the back story…
background story
Kelly left on Saturday X (Twitter) to share my experience with him art of playingShe says the eccentric home goods boutique made her feel Julia Roberts In Beautiful woman.
American Idol Alum wrote:
“Just drove to Brooklyn to check out this store, I thought it looked really cool and had a few things in mind to buy and was literally looked at as if I couldn’t buy it and told me he could find something comparable for me. Wow, dude. You’re an idiot and just lost a huge sale. But if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman, you all should be in Brooklyn. Must check out Art of Play, definitely check it out.”
In response, took the shop Instagram To share your side of the story:
“Yesterday, Kelly Clarkson visited us in Brooklyn and inquired about purchasing “Molly,” a unique singing and dancing bird automaton who plays a key role in the magic shows we host here. Molly is permanently attached to the wall and is not for sale. However, the negative experience Kelly described on Twitter will resonate with anyone who has ever felt judged in a store.
Whether someone comes to shop or just look around for a while, they are equally welcome at Art of Play. We welcome everyone who walks in the door with an invitation to “pick things up and play.” And they do, with many staying for hours enjoying our puzzles, games and toys.”
He continued to express how “unreal” it was for him to be “suddenly” “attacked” by millions of people after Kelly’s outburst:
“Imagine our surprise when our small local business was suddenly attacked by 8 million people who had never visited our store. To be the center of such widespread outrage after just one mention by a celebrity is a surreal experience.
Thank you to all our friends for their support and welcome to all the curious people who discovered us amidst the drama. We’ll 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”.
However Kelly didn’t buy it (the bird, nor the reaction), firing back:
“Well, well. Of course, it wasn’t for sale. The same narrative goes with the Art of Play, so the whole conversation we had when I asked you if it was for sale, while pointing to the price tag hanging on the wall with the title Singing Bird, didn’t happen because you looked at me from the elevator and said in a condescending tone “Yes, it’s for sale but it cost $15,000, so if you want I I can do that if I find something comparable for you.” All that never happened and now it’s not for sale. Okay, great. So you’re not only rude, but also a liar.
got it
And by the way, I obviously support small businesses because I was literally trying to buy things at a small business. I love small businesses and I know they’re important and I always support them, but just because you’re a small business doesn’t give you immunity from treating your store any less than people treat you. It’s not that hard to be kind. I never blame people but my friend you were an exception.
Your store is really very nice.
Unfortunately, you are not.”
He then responded again with clarification:
“We would like to clarify some additional details regarding Kelly Clarkson’s visit to our Curiosity Shop on Saturday.
During the 5 minutes she spent in the store, she inquired about our mechanical bird puppet named Molly. We explained that while Molly is permanently attached to the wall and serves as a de facto mascot for our shop, the maker of nearly identical automaton machines, is owned by a brilliant artist named Bliss Kolb who lives in Seattle. He told us he was willing to part with Molly’s twin for $15,000. We explained it all to Kelly Clarkson.
We also offered to show her a different singing bird automaton made by a traditional watchmaking shop in Germany, which she could take home with her that day. Its price is approximately $2,000. She didn’t stay there long enough to see it.
We’ve reached out to Kelly directly to clarify the situation. We really wish them all the best and hope that someday we can all laugh at this misunderstanding.
current development
Now, on Tuesday, co-owner adam rubin He told reporters about the whirlwind he has been feeling since then.
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When the reporter Mary-Lynn Buckley Interviewed him, he said:
“We bear no ill will toward Kelly Clarkson. We invite her to come back and enjoy the store. But, we find that her gross abuse of power is completely reprehensible, and she should face social consequences.”
See for yourself:
hello @Kelly Clarkson I spoke with Adam Rubin, co-owner of Art of Play, who would like to send you this message, in part, “We bear no ill will toward Kelly Clarkson, we invite her to come back and enjoy the store. But, we find her blatant abuse of power completely reprehensible, and she should… pic.twitter.com/J8rIbDSH5H
– Mary-Lynn Buckley (@Ml_buckley1010) 13 October 2026
As you can see, this is a serious situation for Adam and his employees.
In a new report from prevent Of new york magazineHe is quoted as saying:
“Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger. There are people on the street receiving threats and the worst part is we didn’t know this was going to happen but Kelly Clarkson did.”
When asked to elaborate on the negative impact it had on him, he explained:
“They’re calling. They’re emailing. They’re leaving reviews on every platform, they’re review-bombing, they’re attacking anyone who mentions us on social media. They’re yelling, they’re yelling. They come, they yell, ‘You’re racially profiling Kelly Clarkson!’ It was on the sidewalk, so neighbors called the police, and his followers tricked the neighbors when they videotaped it.
He says that throughout the day as he calls customers he can see new comments on his sales tablet, messages filled with hate and violence:
“There is so much hate speech, so many threats of violence.”
As for Kelly’s experience, he is adamant that it was all a “crazy misunderstanding” and says:
“Nothing happened at this store to justify him berating our shopper on the way out, but I can let that go. You know, everyone has a bad day. But things changed when he used his platform to attack us. This is asymmetrical social warfare.”
Click Here Read on for more, including his explanation of why his own “Molly the Bird” isn’t actually for sale.
Obviously, no matter whose side you take, no one should send hate speech or threats. No one should cheat anyone. And no one should be flooding their phone lines and review pages. This is just dirty behavior and does nothing but make things worse for everyone. If you want to upstage Kelly, stream some more of her music. Don’t troll.
[Image via YouTube/Kelly Clarkson Show.]