Kelly Clarkson clashes with Brooklyn magic shop over singing bird
Kelly Clarkson says staff at a Brooklyn magic shop treated her as if she could not afford to be there. The shop says the row is about a display piece that was never for sale.
Clarkson visited Art of Play, a store in Brooklyn that sells magic tricks, puzzles and curiosities. She later wrote on X that staff looked at her as if she could not afford the items and offered to find her something comparable. She compared the moment to the shopping scene in Pretty Woman, the 1990 film in which Julia Roberts's character is turned away by sales assistants.
Art of Play answered on Instagram. The store said Clarkson had asked to buy Molly, a one-of-a-kind singing and dancing bird automaton used in its magic shows, according to Rolling Stone. An automaton is a mechanical figure that moves on its own. The store said Molly is fixed permanently to the wall and is not for sale.
Clarkson disputed that account on Instagram Stories. She said there was a price tag on the wall titled Singing Bird. She claimed staff told her the singing bird cost 15,000 US dollars and offered to find her something comparable. In the same posts, she called the store rude and a liar.
The bird has a name. It also has a backstory.
Art of Play later gave more detail. It said Clarkson spent only five minutes in the store asking about the mechanical bird puppet Molly. It said a nearly identical automaton owned by creator Bliss Kolb in Seattle was available for 15,000 US dollars. That was the figure quoted to Clarkson, the store said.
The store added that it offered to show her a different singing bird automaton. That piece was made by a German clockmaking shop and cost about 2,000 US dollars. Art of Play said it had reached out to Clarkson directly to try to clear the air.
Amid the exchange, the shop shared a positive customer review praising the kindness of its staff. That post was later deleted, according to Page Six.
What makes this stand out is how little common ground remains. One side describes being judged at the counter. The other describes a misunderstanding over a prop. Neither has backed down in public.
