Last Saturday, Clarkson went on X<\/a> to complain that she had driven \u201call the way to Brooklyn\u201d to check out Art of Play, a high-end novelty store, which she said \u201clooked really rad.\u201d There were a few specific things she wanted to purchase. But when she asked about\u00a0 a singing and dancing bird named Molly, which was affixed to the store\u2019s wall, Clarkson said a store employee looked at her \u201cas if I couldn\u2019t afford it.\u201d<\/p>\n Clarkson compared herself to the Julia Roberts sex worker character in the 1999 rom-com \u201cPretty Woman,\u201d who was treated dismissively in a luxury Rodeo Drive clothing boutique. Clark said about the Art of Play employee:\u00a0 \u201cWow, dude. You\u2019re an idiot and just lost a huge sale.\u201d<\/p>\n But after putting the Art of Play on blast \u2014 and facing accusations by its owners that she had sicced her 8.8 million X followers on their small business \u2014 people have wondered why she would potentially inflict major PR damage on herself, according to reports and thought pieces by Slate, New York Magazine<\/a> and the New York Times.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s one thing for a celebrity to use their national platform to take on a righteous cause, including complaining about the unfair consumer practices of a large, powerful corporation. But it is seen as \u201cslapping down\u201d when a celebrity uses that same platform to publicly criticize a small business or someone who is not rich and famous. One of Art of Play\u2019s owners, Adam Rubin (who also happens to be a best-selling children\u2019s author), gave interviews and somewhat dramatically accused Clarkson of engaging in \u201casymmetrical social warfare,\u201d which he said led to an influx of negative social media comments and \u201cpeople being attacked on the street,\u201d as Slate reported.<\/p>\n Clarkson may have made things worse for herself by doubling-down<\/a> on her grievances after the store went online to explain that the bird was a \u201cone-of-a-kind\u201d item and not for sale. The store further explained that employees offered to show Clarkson a different automaton that she could take home the same day for $2,000 but she \u201cdid not stick around long enough to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n Clarkson volleyed back, pointing out on X<\/a> that the bird had a $15,000 price tag next to it. She also said the store employee \u201celevator eyed\u201d her and spoke to her in a condescending tone when offering to find something comparable for her.<\/p>\n Whether or not the employee spoke to her in a condescending way, it has struck many as a bit extreme for Clarkson to take her grievances against a small business to X, especially as American society has spent the past 15 years \u201clearning about the corrosive effects social media has on basically every situation,\u201d Schwedel wrote.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792207695_556_IMG_6900_cb3d60.jpg\")
A singing and dancing bird automaton named \u201cMolly\u201d is displayed, but not for sale, at Art of Play. (Julian Roberts-Grmela \/ New York Daily News)\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Art](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792207696_894_a2IMG_6876_652aa4.jpg\")
Art of Play on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn sells eclectic games, puzzles, home goods, books, gift items, and collectible playing cards. (Julian Roberts-Grmela \/ New York Daily News)\u00a0Julian Roberts-Grmela \/ NYDN<\/p>\n