Brooklyn Shop Owner Alleges Threats After Clarkson Dispute

Art of Play co-owner Adam Rubin says the Brooklyn shop has faced threats and a surge of hostile messages following Kelly Clarkson’s public criticism of a visit, while the singer and the store continue to describe their conversation differently. The reported threats are Rubin’s allegations and have not been independently established in the accounts reviewed. Clarkson wrote on X on October 10 that an employee treated her as though she could not afford an item and offered to find something comparable. She said she had gone to the shop intending to buy several things and compared the experience to Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman. Clarkson later stood by her account. Art of Play said the conversation concerned Molly, a mechanical singing bird fixed to the shop’s wall and not for sale. The store said a nearly identical automaton owned by creator Bliss Kolb could be obtained for $15,000. The competing descriptions leave unclear what was said during the brief in-store exchange. Rubin said the resulting backlash included calls, messages, negative online reviews and threats directed at the business and people associated with it.