Kelly Clarkson calls Brooklyn shop a liar in row over $15,000 bird

Kelly Clarkson has accused a Brooklyn shop of lying after it denied giving her the Pretty Woman treatment over a $15,000 mechanical bird.

The singer hit back on Instagram Stories after Art of Play, a speciality magic shop in Brooklyn, said the item she asked about was never for sale. The exchange follows Clarkson’s 10 October post on X, where she said staff treated her as though she could not afford the merchandise, according to Billboard.

Clarkson compared the visit to the 1990 Julia Roberts film Pretty Woman, a reference to being judged on appearance and assumed unable to pay. She also claimed the shop treated her poorly without recognising her.

Art of Play responded on 11 October via Instagram. The store said the object at the centre of the row, “Molly,” a singing-and-dancing bird automaton used in its magic shows, is permanently fixed to the wall and is not for sale. It added that the “negative experience Kelly described … would resonate with anyone who has ever felt judged in a shop” and said all visitors are “equally welcome.”

Clarkson rejected that explanation. She shared a grainy photo she said showed the bird on display beside a $15,000 price tag, and said an employee quoted that price before offering to find “something comparable.”

“So you’re not only rude, you’re also a liar. Got it,” Clarkson wrote in her Instagram Stories post. She added: “You don’t get a free pass to treat people less than in your store just because you are a small business.”

She closed the message with two short lines: “It’s not that hard to be kind” and “Your store is really cool. Unfortunately, you aren’t.”

The shop said it had been “suddenly attacked by 8 million people who have never visited our store” after Clarkson’s initial post. It signed off its statement with “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” a line from Clarkson’s 2012 hit “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You).”

What makes this stand out is the paper trail. One side points to a wall fixture that cannot be sold. The other points to a photo of a price tag. For now, both versions are sitting side by side on social media.