Whew. Buckle up, birdies.
A co-owner of the Brooklyn shop Kelly Clarkson put on blast over the weekend is opening up about the experience he and his colleagues have endured since that fateful tweet — and he is NOT happy about it! Understandably. But first, the backstory…
Backstory
On Saturday, Kelly went on X (Twitter) to share her experience with Art of Play, the whimsical home goods boutique she says left her feeling like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.
The American Idol alum wrote:
“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”
In response, the shop took to Instagram to share their side of the story:
“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.
At Art of Play whether someone comes in to make a purchase or simply look around for a while, they are equally welcome. We greet everyone who walks in the door with the invitation to “pick things up and play.” And they do, many stay for hours enjoying our puzzles, games and toys.”
They continued, expressing how “surreal” it’s been for them to “suddenly” be “attacked” by millions of people in the wake of Kelly’s blast:
“Imagine our surprise when our small local business was suddenly attacked by 8 million people who have never visited our store. It’s been a surreal experience to be the focus of such widespread outrage after just one mention by a celebrity.
Thanks to all our friends for their support and welcome to all the curious folks who have discovered us amidst the drama. We’re going to 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””
Kelly didn’t buy it though (the bird, nor the response), firing back:
“Cool, cool. Sure, it wasn’t for sale. That’s the narrative Art of Play is gonna go with 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.” 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
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. 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.”
Then they followed up again, clarifying:
“We’d like to clarify some additional details about 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, 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.
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.
We’ve reached out to Kelly directly to try and clear the air. We really do wish her the best and hope that someday we can all laugh about this misunderstanding.”
Current Development
Now, on Tuesday, co-owner Adam Rubin opened up to reporters about the whirlwind whiplash they’ve been feeling ever since.
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When reporter Mary-Lyn Buckley interviewed him, he said:
“We hold no ill will against Kelly Clarkson. We invite her to come back and enjoy the store. But, we find her gross abuse of power completely reprehensible, and she should face social consequences.”
Watch for yourself:
Hi @kellyclarkson I talked to Art Of Play co-owner Adam Rubin who wants to send you this message in part “We hold no ill will against Kelly Clarkson, we invite her to come back and enjoy the store. But, we find her gross abuse of power completely reprehensible, and she should… pic.twitter.com/J8rIbDSH5H
— Mary-Lyn Buckley (@Ml_buckley1010) October 13, 2026
As you can see, this is a serious situation for Adam and his employees.
In a new report from Curbed of New York Magazine, he’s quoted saying:
“Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger. 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.”
When asked to elaborate on the negative impact they’re facing, he explains:
“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 shouting, they’re screaming. They show up, they shout, ‘You’re racially profiling Kelly Clarkson!’ This was out on the sidewalk, so neighbors called the police, and when they filmed the neighbors their followers doxxed the neighbors”
He says all day long while they ring up customers they can see new comments coming in on their sale tablet, messages full of hate and violence:
“There’s so much hate speech, so many threats of violence.”
As for Kelly’s experience, he’s adamant it was all an “insane misunderstanding” and says:
“Nothing happened in this shop to justify her scolding our shopkeeper on the way out, but I can let that go. You know, everybody has a bad day. But things changed when she used her platform to attack us. It’s asymmetrical social warfare.”
Click here to read more, including his explanation about why their own “Molly the bird” is truly NOT for sale.
Obviously, regardless of whose side you take, no one should be sending hate speech or threats. No one should be doxxing anyone. And no one should be flooding their phone lines and review pages. That’s just s**tty behavior and does absolutely nothing but make things worse for everyone. If you want to lift up Kelly, stream her music some more. Don’t troll.
[Image via YouTube/Kelly Clarkson Show.]
