There has been a major development in the Kelly Clarkson-NYC novelty store feud. That’s right, people: The security footage has been released.
Related
Over the past four days, the internet has been obsessed with the singer’s public spat with Art of Play in Brooklyn, N.Y., which she alleges treated her “like Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman” after she inquired about purchasing an animatronic bird named “Molly” that sings and dances. Following much back-and-forth between the two parties — as well as people online sharing takes and choosing sides — investigative podcaster Pablo Torre has acquired and released the security tape showing the exchange in question, which he shared on YouTube on Tuesday night (Oct. 13).
The video does not include audio, so we still don’t know what was said between Clarkson and the sales associate who speaks to her in the newly surfaced footage. We can see that the American Idol champion enters the busy shop, browses some of the items, then flags down the associate while pointing at Molly.
After talking with the associate for a few moments, Clarkson returns the items she’s already picked out to the shelves and heads to the exit, where — appearing a little bit heated — she exchanges words with a different employee managing the cash register before she leaves the store. Another customer who was standing in between the singer and employee at the register during the showdown appears to look around in disbelief at what just happened after the hitmaker exits.
Billboard has reached out to Clarkson’s rep for comment.
“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,” The Voice coach wrote on social media in the post that ignited the feud, just minutes after exiting. “Y’all should go check out Art of Play in Brooklyn if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman.”
The store responded with its own version of events, claiming that Molly hadn’t been for sale and is “permanently attached to the wall” of the store. After the “Stronger” singer doubled down in a post on X, saying that there was clearly a $15,000 price tag for Molly on display and writing, “You don’t get a free pass to treat people less than in your store just because you are a small business,” the store released another statement.
“We’d like to clarify some additional details about Kelly Clarkson’s visit to our Curiosity Shop on Saturday,” it read. “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.”
Art of Play also said it “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” that cost $2,000 — but she “did not stick around long enough” to check it out. “We really do wish her the best and hope that someday we can all laugh about this misunderstanding,” the shop added.
That said, Art of Play certainly isn’t laughing right now. “Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger,” co-owner Adam Rubin told Curbed on Tuesday (Oct. 13), claiming that his business has faced harassment due to the vocalist’s posts.
See the footage shared by Pablo Torre below.
