Brooklyn Store Details Kelly Clarkson Incident, Raises Price Of Molly To $15M

In some the most delightfully batshit celebrity antics in recent memory, Clarkson has been waging a PR war on Art Of Play, a Brooklyn boutique that made her feel like Julia Roberts' character in Pretty Woman by refusing to sell her an animatronic bird named Molly. She first posted about the incident Saturday on her X account, inspiring a large number of her followers to send hostile messages the store's way.

According to a social media post from Art Of Play, upon her visit to the shop this past Saturday, Clarkson "inquired about buying 'Molly,' a one-of-a-kind singing and dancing bird automaton who plays an important role in the magic shows we host here." Clarkson doubled down on Sunday, insisting that the bird had a price tag. The shop then clarified on Instagram that it had offered Clarkson alternatives to purchase, some of which were available in the shop that day. Clarkson keeps digging her heels in, refusing to back down.

Now Adam Rubin, one of Art Of Play's three co-owners, has given an interview to Curbed . "This is an insane misunderstanding," he said. "Nothing happened in this shop to justify her scolding our shopkeeper on the way out, but I can let that go. You know, everybody has a bad day. But things changed when she used her platform to attack us. It’s asymmetrical social warfare."

Rubin says the store was packed while Clarkson was there, and she was present for less than five minutes. "If this tweetstorm had not happened, we wouldn’t have realized there was a negative interaction in the shop; it was that undramatic," he said. "We treated her like a normal person, but apparently that didn’t live up to her expectations."

When asked about the alleged price tag, Rubin replied that the artist behind Molly is an artisan who lives and works in the woods: "It takes him years to make these machines. There are two in existence. This is one." He said an agreement with the artist is why they balked at selling Molly on the spot: "So many people asked about it that we had put a price on it, but we talked to the creator when he came to fix the machine, and if someone showed serious interest, we would reach out to him about getting them an automaton. As you’ve noticed, we’ve raised the price due to popular demand. It now costs $15 million."

Rubin said Art Of Play's employees and anyone who shows support for them have been subject to nonstop harassment ever since Clarkson began her one-sided beef. "Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger." He elaborated, "They’re calling. They’re emailing. They’re leaving reviews on every platform, they’re review-bombing, they’re attacking anyone who mentions us on social media. They’re shouting, they’re screaming. They show up, they shout, 'You’re racially profiling Kelly Clarkson!' This was out on the sidewalk, so neighbors called the police, and when they filmed the neighbors their followers doxxed the neighbors." He adds, "If an actual customer tries to get in touch with us right now, they will never be able to."

Beyond all the turmoil she has wrought, I wonder if Clarkson realizes this is now going to be the first thing people think of when her name comes up? How high up will it go in her obituary? Hopefully she calls off her dogs soon.

Kelly Clarkson has been feuding on social media with an upscale Brooklyn toy store, Art of Play, after she says they treated her like she couldn’t afford a $15,000 animatronic singing bird. The store has offered a different version of events.

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