Kelly Clarkson Store Video Leaves Key Exchange Unheard
Security footage of Kelly Clarkson’s visit to Art of Play in Brooklyn has surfaced, but the muted video does not record her conversation with staff. The…
Security footage released after Kelly Clarkson’s dispute with a Brooklyn shop shows the singer inside the store, but leaves out the exchange at the heart of the disagreement. The Kelly Clarkson video, obtained by the podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” is muted and does not make clear what she or the employee said.
The footage adds a visual record to a public clash over Molly, a singing and dancing mechanical bird at Art of Play. Clarkson says staff treated her as if she could not afford it; the store says Molly is attached to the wall and is not for sale.
The disagreement has also drawn a wave of negative reviews and, according to the shop’s owner, threats against employees.
Muted footage leaves key exchange unheard
CNN reported that the surveillance video was obtained exclusively by “Pablo Torre Finds Out.” It shows Clarkson at the Brooklyn toy store, but its silence means it cannot establish what was said during her conversation with staff. CNN also said it was unclear how the footage was obtained.
Footage described by Yahoo shows Clarkson browsing with her children, standing in front of the bird and speaking with an employee. She later talks to another staff member and appears upset while gesturing. The visit lasted less than five minutes, according to the video account published by Yahoo.
That sequence does not resolve the central dispute. The camera captures movement, not the words that each side says shaped the encounter.
Clarkson wrote on X that she had driven to Brooklyn to look at the shop and had items in mind to buy. She said an employee told her he could find something comparable, and complained that she had been looked at “as if I couldn't afford” the purchase.
Art of Play gave a different account in a statement quoted by Yahoo. The owners said Molly is a one-of-a-kind bird automaton that plays a role in the store’s magic shows, is permanently attached to the wall and is not for sale. The BBC also reported the store’s claim that an employee offered to find an identical bird for $15,000.
Shop owner says employees face backlash
The competing accounts have turned a short visit into a wider dispute over how a small business and a celebrity describe the same interaction. Clarkson said the bird had a price tag and that an employee told her it cost $15,000. The store’s public explanation is that the display bird itself cannot be bought.
The footage cannot settle that difference. Without audio, viewers cannot hear whether the employee discussed the displayed bird or another, identical one, as the shop says.
The online reaction has had consequences for the store. Yahoo reported that fans left negative reviews after Clarkson’s post. Shop owner Adam Rubin told Inside Edition, “We are afraid for the safety of our shopkeepers. Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger.”
Rubin also said the store was crowded and that staff treated Clarkson like any other customer. “We treated her like a normal person, but apparently that did not live up to her expectations,” he said, according to Yahoo.
The owners said the business had been attacked by “8 million people who have never visited our store,” in a statement quoted by Yahoo. The figure was the shop’s description of the online response, not a count independently confirmed by the surveillance footage.
Clarkson rejected the store’s account in follow-up posts on X. She wrote, “So you're not only rude, you're also a liar. Got it.” In another post, she disputed the claim that Molly was not for sale and said an employee had pointed to a price tag while offering to find something comparable.
A representative for Clarkson did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment, Yahoo reported. The released surveillance video remains muted.
Source: cnn.com
