{"id":373754,"date":"2026-10-15T10:27:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T10:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/373754\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T10:27:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T10:27:19","slug":"a-visit-to-art-of-play-the-brooklyn-store-in-an-animatronic-bird-beef-with-kelly-clarkson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/373754\/","title":{"rendered":"A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson"},"content":{"rendered":"

A small wooden bird named Molly is affixed to the wall of a Brooklyn games store called Art of Play. She’s modeled after an American goldfinch, measures a few inches long and, when operated by a hand crank, begins to sing and dance. Molly often serves as an opening act for the magic shows that take place at the store.<\/p>\n

Until recently, Molly was just one of several crank-operated figurines<\/a> designed and crafted by Seattle artist Bliss Kolb. But now, as stated by a small printed sign spotted by Gothamist during a visit to the store on Tuesday, she might very well be \u201cthe world\u2019s most famous singing bird automata.\u201d<\/p>\n

An explanation, for those blissfully unaware: On Saturday afternoon, Grammy-winning artist and talk show host Kelly Clarkson decided to swing by Art of Play, which is located on Atlantic Avenue between Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill. Clarkson shared on X<\/a> shortly afterward that she had expressed interest in buying an item but \u201cwas looked at as if I couldn\u2019t afford it,\u201d an experience she likened to the famous shopping scene from the 1990 film \u201cPretty Woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWow, dude,\u201d she wrote that day. \u201cYou\u2019re an idiot and just lost a huge sale.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post went viral \u2014 as of Tuesday afternoon, it has more than 260,000 likes \u2014 and prompted a response from Art of Play, which clarified on Instagram that Clarkson had been interested in Molly the animatronic bird: \u201cMolly is permanently attached to the wall and isn\u2019t for sale,\u201d the store wrote on Sunday<\/a>, adding that it was \u201ca surreal experience to be the focus of such widespread outrage after just one mention by a celebrity.\u201d The post concludes by quoting one of Clarkson\u2019s hit songs: \u201cAs a talented popular singer once said, \u2018What doesn\u2019t kill you makes you stronger.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Some people online expressed support for Art of Play, while others looked for proof that Clarkson was in the right. One person, for instance, zoomed in on a photo of Molly and captured the $15,000 price tag next to her, presumably contradicting the store\u2019s claim that the bird was not for sale. Clarkson shared that image<\/a> and wrote, \u201cI love small businesses and know they are important and I always support them, but you don\u2019t get a free pass to treat people less than in your store just because you are a small business. It\u2019s not that hard to be kind.\u201d<\/p>\n

The small business responded on Instagram<\/a> again, claiming that Clarkson was told that although Molly was not for sale, she could purchase an identical bird from Kolb directly. The store also offered to show her a different, German-made singing bird that she could have taken home from the store that day for $2,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe did not stick around long enough to see it,\u201d Art of Play wrote.<\/p>\n

That added even more fuel to the fire. Strangers on the internet continued to debate whether Clarkson had abused her massive platform by calling out a small business, or if the employees were \u201ccondescending\u201d as she said they were. The discourse even reached (semi-related) labor circles. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union issued a statement Tuesday criticizing Clarkson\u2019s behavior toward the Art of Play employee: \u201cEvery customer who walks into a store, especially those with massive platforms, has a responsibility to treat retail workers with basic human decency and respect,\u201d wrote Stuart Appelbaum, the union’s president.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Art of Play co-owner Adam Rubin told a gaggle of reporters that he and his business partners, twin magicians Dan and Dave Buck, were \u201cafraid for the safety of our shopkeepers.\u201d He said they had received \u201cthreatening phone calls, threatening text messages,\u201d and that they were still being \u201charassed on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKelly Clarkson has put us in danger,\u201d he said, adding that the threatening behavior has also been directed toward people supporting Art of Play on public platforms: \u201cOne of our friends and neighbors said something nice about us online [and] people started attacking him. They told him that they wish that his cat gets cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clarkson\u2019s representatives did not respond to Gothamist\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n

Rubin likened the process of purchasing a handcrafted product like Molly to buying something from a custom furniture store. These items aren\u2019t available on demand, he said, and a shopkeeper might offer up more readily available options.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen somebody sees something interesting and they show interest in it, we show them something similar because we think maybe they\u2019ll be interested in that,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s how a shop works. It has nothing to do with [the] price.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which, speaking of, has exponentially increased since Molly became an overnight star: There is now a price tag next to Molly in the store that reads $15 million.<\/p>\n

As of Tuesday, Rubin said he hadn\u2019t heard from Clarkson or her team. He expressed some sympathy for the singer, noting that \u201cif it\u2019s this intense to be mentioned by Kelly Clarkson, imagine what it\u2019s like to be Kelly Clarkson every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

But still, he said, \u201cwhen you have the platform, fame, money and power that she has, you can\u2019t try to squash somebody like a bug and expect everybody to give you a pass.\u201d He said he would now be willing to sell Molly if anyone, including Clarkson, were to come to the store and cough up $15 million. If that happened, he said, they could give $15,000 to each of Art of Play\u2019s shopkeepers and another $1 million to Kolb, the artist. And maybe they would buy an antique automaton to replace Molly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can do a lot with $15 million,\u201d Rubin said. \u201cKelly Clarkson would know.\u201d<\/p>\n