![\"US](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/mmail.com.my\/89df555fd4bbf25bf3932156a3c7a2aa.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\nNEW YORK, Oct 12 \u2014 A singing, dancing bird automaton has landed US singer and talk show host Kelly Clarkson in a very public standoff with a Brooklyn shop, and social media users are split over who is in the right.<\/p>\n
The row began last Saturday, when the singer, 44, posted on X that she had driven to Art of Play, a store selling home goods, puzzles, games, toys and books, with a few things in mind to buy.<\/p>\n
Instead, she wrote, she “literally was looked at as if I couldn’t afford it”, and was told the shop could find something comparable for her.<\/p>\n
She then urged her followers to visit the shop if they enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts’ character Vivian in the 1990 rom-com Pretty Woman.<\/p>\n
The post has since racked up over 39.9 million views.<\/p>\n
Clarkson, who moved to New York City in the autumn of 2023, said the piece she wanted, titled Singing Bird, had a price tag of US$15,000 (RM61,300), and that she had been told it was for sale at that price.<\/p>\n
Art of Play responded the next day on Instagram, saying she had asked about buying Molly, a one-of-a-kind singing and dancing bird automaton that features in the magic shows the shop hosts.<\/p>\n
“Molly is permanently attached to the wall and isn’t for sale,” the shop wrote.<\/p>\n
It added that the “negative experience” Clarkson described would resonate with anyone who has ever felt judged in a shop, and stressed that it welcomes browsers and buyers alike.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
US singer Kelly Clarkson accused New York shop Art of Play on X of treating her as if she could not afford its goods and of lying about whether a US$15,000 (RM61,300) singing bird automaton was for sale, which the shop says is not for sale. \u2014 Screenshots from X\/kellyclarkson<\/p>\n
US singer Kelly Clarkson accused New York shop Art of Play on X of treating her as if she could not afford its goods and of lying about whether a US$15,000 (RM61,300) singing bird automaton was for sale, which the shop says is not for sale. \u2014 Screenshots from X\/kellyclarkson<\/p>\n
The shop also said it was taken aback by the online fallout.<\/p>\n
“Imagine our surprise when our small local business was suddenly attacked by 8 million people who have never visited our store.”<\/p>\n
Clarkson hit back on Sunday through a sarcastic Instagram Stories post, saying the conversation she had about the price tag was now being brushed aside as something that never happened.<\/p>\n
She also shared a grainy photo that apparently showed the item hanging on the wall with a price tag beside it.<\/p>\n
“So you’re not only rude, you’re also a liar. Got it,” she wrote.<\/p>\n
The singer said she supports small businesses, having tried to spend money in one, but argued that “you don’t get a free pass to treat people less than in your store just because you are a small business”.<\/p>\n
She added that she rarely blasts people, called the store cool and said its owner was not.<\/p>\n
Online, some X users accused Clarkson of using her fame to go after a small business over one employee’s behaviour.<\/p>\n
“A small business does not need a mega bully,” one X user posted under the handle @usebigears.<\/p>\n
Others rallied behind the singer, with one user, @megakunt1, arguing that the shop’s staff were at fault because “they assumed she couldn’t afford it” even though the price was clearly displayed.<\/p>\n
A few users went further, predicting that an employee at the store would lose their job over the incident.<\/p>\n
Art of Play struck a calmer note, thanking supporters, welcoming the curious and saying it planned to keep a low profile.<\/p>\n
“Hopefully, we can clear things up with Kelly someday,” the shop said, before borrowing a line from her hit Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK, Oct 12 \u2014 A singing, dancing bird automaton has landed US singer and talk show host…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":370799,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,10],"class_list":["post-370798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=370798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370798\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=370798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=370798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=370798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}