A shopping trip in Brooklyn has turned into a public feud. Kelly Clarkson visited the curiosity shop Art of Play on Saturday and says she was treated as though she could not afford the merchandise — an experience she compared to the famous shopping scene in the film Pretty Woman.
At the centre of the dispute is a singing-bird automaton the shop calls Molly. Clarkson says staff told her the bird was for sale at $15,000 while offering to find her something comparable. The shop responded on Sunday with a different account: the bird is not for sale, it is permanently attached to a wall, and it plays a role in the shop's magic shows. The shop said everyone is welcome to browse and play.
Clarkson answered on X on Sunday, calling the shop's version false and its owner rude — and, in her word, a liar — and arguing that being a small business does not excuse treating people poorly. The shop had not publicly answered her follow-up post as of Sunday night.
The exchange then took another turn: a Sept. 5 social-media post from the shop, listing the bird among items that are not for sale, resurfaced online late Sunday, adding context that cuts against Clarkson's account of being offered the piece. The disagreement, for now, plays on in public.
