CCTV footage from Art of Play, the Brooklyn shop at the centre of a feud with Kelly Clarkson over a mechanical bird, shows the moment things soured between the singer and the staff.
Over the weekend, Kelly, 44, accused the staff at Art of Play of refusing to sell her a mechanical bird attached to their wall. She likened the moment to a scene in the 1990 film Pretty Woman, where a character is refused service and belittled in a boutique, as the employees think she can't afford anything in the shop.
Security footage from the shop now shows an agitated Kelly pointing at the shop's employees, right before she stormed off the premises.
Footage shows confrontation
The silent footage was obtained by Pablo Torre, host of the podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out, and shared on his YouTube account. In the video, Kelly walked into the busy shop in a yellow shirt, blue jeans and a baseball cap. She browsed the store's items before approaching an employee to ask about the bird, permanently attached to the wall and called Molly. A wheel system underneath the bird, when turned, made it sing.
When Kelly pointed at the bird, the employee shook his head and pointed at something underneath it. Kelly then pointed to another section of the shop and the worker moved towards it. When he looked back at Kelly, she was not looking in his direction or following him, and he started speaking to another customer. Kelly, who had been looking at another item, then turned to the shopkeeper but saw him talking to someone else.
The singer, who appeared agitated, started gesturing while speaking to another employee behind the counter. According to Torre and his podcast guests, other customers seemed to react to the confrontation as Kelly left the store.
Clarkson and shop respond
Shortly after her time in the shop, Kelly wrote on X: "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."
"Wow, dude. You're an idiot and just lost a huge sale. But y'all should go check out Art of Play in Brooklyn if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman. For sure, check it out."
The shop later responded on Instagram. They wrote: "Yesterday, Kelly Clarkson visited us in Brooklyn and inquired about buying 'Molly', a one-of-a-kind singing and dancing bird automaton who plays an important role in the magic shows we host here. 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."
They added that they encourage people to come into their shop and play with the items, but that they were "surprised" to be the subject of outrage after Kelly's words. The shop said they hoped to "clear things up with Kelly" and thanked their friends for their support.
Despite their statement, several Brooklyn residents commented saying they had seen a price tag near the bird. One wrote: "I was literally there in August and saw Molly, there was a price tag on it. It most definitely was for sale." Others said they had only had a wonderful experience, including Michelle Monaghan, who said it was one of the "most special places" she had ever been to.
Further exchanges
The shop also said they had tried to explain to Kelly that the price tag near Molly was for her 'twin', made by an artist in Seattle, and that the "comparable" item they tried to show her was another mechanical bird in store that could be taken home that day.
Kelly responded with an Instagram post of her own. She said: "Sure, it 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 … didn't happen … Okay, cool. So you're not only rude, you're also a liar." She added that she loved small business and thought the store was "really cool" but that its staff were not.
The Mirror has reached out to reps for Kelly Clarkson.
