Kelly Clarkson accused of putting Brooklyn store in 'danger' after viral dispute with owner

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: Kelly Clarkson’s comments have turned the life of a Brooklyn shop owner upside down. Adam Rubin, co-owner of the shop, Art of Play, has finally spoken about the backlash the store has received following the dispute over Clarkson’s shopping experience.

The shop's co-owner shared that both the business and the people associated with it have faced intimidation from people after the singer criticized her shopping experience.

Kelly Clarkson’s Art of Play dispute draws response from NYC store’s co-owner

In an interview with Curbed published on Tuesday, October 13, Rubin described the incident as an “insane misunderstanding.” He said the attention surrounding the dispute has created a difficult situation for the store and its employees.

“Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger,” Rubin said, adding that people had been confronted in public and that those who voiced support for the store online had also faced backlash. 

Speaking to TMZ, Rubin said the past 72 hours had been stressful for the business after Clarkson criticised her shopping experience. Rubin said the store had received a wave of phone calls, emails and negative reviews on multiple platforms.

He also claimed that some people had arrived outside the shop to confront employees, while online users had circulated personal information about neighbors who filmed the incident. The flood of messages eventually became too much for the team to manage, prompting the store to switch off its phone.

Rubin added that comments continued appearing on the shop’s point-of-sale iPad even as employees helped customers. “There’s so much hate speech. If an actual customer tries to get in touch with us right now, they will never be able to,” Rubin said.

Kelly Clarkson says NYC store treated her like Julia Roberts in 'Pretty Woman'

Clarkson has spoken out about an unpleasant shopping experience at a high-end store in Brooklyn, saying the way she was treated reminded her of Julia Roberts' character in the 1990 film 'Pretty Woman'.

The Grammy winner took to X on October 10 to share her experience, revealing that she had driven to the store after spotting items she wanted to purchase. "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," Clarkson wrote.

"And literally was looked at as if I couldn't afford it and was told he could find something comparable for me." Expressing her frustration, she added, "Wow, dude. You're an idiot and just lost a huge sale."

"If you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts' character in Pretty Woman," she wrote, adding alongside a thumbs-down emoji, "For sure, check it out."