Everyone’s talking about the ongoing beef between The Voice coach Kelly Clarkson and a Brooklyn store called Art of Play. Newly leaked security camera footage shows what went down when Clarkson visited the store over the weekend.
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 👎
Security Footage Shows Kelly Clarkson Store Interaction
On Saturday, Kelly Clarkson took to X (formerly Twitter) to share that she “drove all the way to Brooklyn” to visit a store called Art of Play. During her time in the shop, Clarkson claimed she “literally was looked at as if I couldn’t afford it and was told he could find something comparable for me.”
Art of Play responded to Clarkson’s post by claiming that the singer had sought to buy Molly, a “singing and dancing birth automaton” which is “permanently attached to the wall and isn’t for sale.” The back-and-forth continued as Clarkson claimed there was a $15,000 price tag on the wall near the bird. Art of Play later clarified that the maker of the bird has “a nearly identical automaton” which he is willing to sell.
They also apparently offered to show her “a different singing bird automaton” which costs around $2,000, but Clarkson “did not stick around long enough to see it.” In the midst of arguments online about which side was in the right, podcaster Pablo Torre shared on Tuesday that he had obtained security footage of the incident.
The footage shows that Clarkson spent less than five minutes in the store, first looking at a few items on the shelves before speaking to an employee. Molly, the bird at the center of this controversy, can be seen on the wall nearby as the two interact. There is no audio in the footage, but multiple camera angles were made available.
Although it’s not clear what was said during Kelly Clarkson’s brief interaction with the Art of Play employee, she did leave the store shortly afterward. The singer can be seen walking away from the employee as he gestures to something across the store. It’s possible he was pointing out the $2,000 bird, but Clarkson does not look at him. He then assists another customer.
Soon after, Clarkson returns the smaller items she was looking at to the shelves and moves toward the door. Before leaving, she can be seen turning toward another employee who is standing behind the counter nearby. Once again, no audio is available, but Clarkson appears agitated as she speaks to him.
Security footage from outside the store’s entrance shows Clarkson taking her phone out almost as soon as she leaves. Her post on X about the experience was sent 15 minutes later. Store owner Adam Rubin called the situation an “enormous misunderstanding,” adding that Clarkson’s post was a “reprehensible abuse of power.”
“Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger,” he said. “We have gotten threatening phone calls, threatening text messages. We’ve been review-bombed. We’re getting harassed on social media. People are showing up and screaming outside of the shop. Our neighbors are getting doxed.”
What do you think about the security footage of Kelly Clarkson at Art of Play in Brooklyn? Do you think she should have posted about the experience online, or did she go too far? Let us know in the comments below.
Words by:
Jill O'Rourke Jill O’Rourke is a contributor at Talent Recap, writing news stories and recaps for shows like ‘AGT,’ ‘The Voice,’ and ‘American Idol.’ She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and Film Studies, and has been writing about pop culture since 2012, with previous bylines at Crushable and A Plus. Jill spends her free time binge-watching sitcoms and daydreaming about life as a hobbit
