Brooklyn store fires back at Kelly Clarkson after her ‘liar’ claim, says she spent just ‘5 minutes’
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: It seems the ongoing saga between Kelly Clarkson and a Brooklyn store is not ending soon, as the latter has released a new statement after the singer called its employee a “liar.”
The store, named Art of Play also stated that they have “reached out to Kelly directly to try and clear the air.”
Kelly Clarkson claimed Art of Play looked down on her
The clash between Clarkson and Art of Play began after the 44-year-old songwriter accused the shop of “treating [her] like Julia Roberts’ character in ‘Pretty Woman’”. She claimed that she was interested in buying a singing bird but was “looked at as if I couldn’t afford it.”
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 👎
— Kelly Clarkson (@kellyclarkson) October 10, 2026
The mother-of-two further stated that one of the staff members told her that “he could find something comparable for [her]” before she left the store.
Art of Play denied Kelly Clarkson's accusations
Art of Play responded, saying that the bird Clarkson apparently wanted to buy “is permanently attached to the wall and isn’t for sale.”
“We’re going to keep our heads down and hopefully, we can clear things up with Kelly someday,” the shop added.
Kelly Clarkson accused Art of Play of lying
Clarkson, however, slammed Art of Play, asserting that they were lying.
Her statement claimed, “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.”
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.
— Kelly Clarkson (@kellyclarkson) October 11, 2026
Art of Play claimed Kelly Clarkson spent only five minutes in the store
On Sunday, October 11, Art of Play once again tried to share its side of the story.
On Instagram, the shop wrote, “During the 5 minutes she spent in the store, she inquired about our mechanical bird puppet named Molly.”
The shop continued, “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.”
According to Art of Play, the store also offered Clarkson a different singing bird automaton that would cost her $2,000. However, it claimed that she “did not stick around long enough to see it.”
The statement added, “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.”
