Grammy Award-winning singer and former talk show host Kelly Clarkson decided to beef with a small Brooklyn-based business over the weekend, claiming she was treated unfairly. And it raises some important questions about power and how to use it.
Clarkson visited “curiosity shop” Art of Play (don’t worry, I googled it — it essentially translates to “magic shop”) and afterward took to X to blast the store in a tweet that had amassed more than a quarter-million likes at the time of publication.
“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,” she wrote. “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.” She ended the post with a damning thumbs-down emoji.
This whole debacle foregrounds some complex questions about power.
Art of Play responded with a measured, if not a little pious, Instagram post explaining that the item Clarkson wanted to buy, an automaton bird named Molly, “is permanently attached to the wall and isn’t for sale,” adding, “However, the negative experience Kelly described on twitter would resonate with anyone who has ever felt judged in a shop.”
The post also addressed the backlash the store faced: “Imagine our surprise when our small local business was suddenly attacked by 8 million people who have never visited our store. It’s been a surreal experience to be the focus of such widespread outrage after just one mention by a celebrity.”
And thus began a tit-for-tat social media war between Art of Play and Clarkson, the latter of whom accused the shop of lying about Molly, and which is still ongoing.
The internet has been sitting back, eating its proverbial popcorn as the feud has gathered momentum. For me, as noted, this whole debacle foregrounds some complex questions about power. Chiefly, how do we ethically use our power? I’ll give you a hint: Clarkson, here, fell short.
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Clarkson has extraordinary levels of privilege given her career and pop icon status — not to mention that she is cishet and white, with an estimated wealth of approximately $70 million. Clarkson has close to 9 million followers on X, where she initiated her consumer dispute. By all accounts, her wealth and cultural and social capital far exceed that of Art of Play and its magician twin-brother owners, Dan and Dave Buck.
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Noor Noman is a writer focused on culture, race and LGBTQ issues.