Art of Play Calls Kelly Clarkson 'Completely Reprehensible' After Muted CCTV Footage Surfaces

Just a few weeks after declaring her support for AI, Kelly Clarkson finds herself in another controversy. This time, she got herself into a dispute with Art of Play, a homeware store in Brooklyn, over an automaton bird on display.

The singer and the hobby store got into a heated altercation online following the incident, with several of Clarkson's fans opting to review-bomb the business. Footage of Clarkson's visit to the store added fuel to the fire, with onlookers debating the exact nature of her customer experience.

Kelly Clarkson's Interactions With Art of Play Staff Revealed in New Footage

On 10 October, the singer shared her experience with the shop with her eight million followers on X, sparking a heated dispute between her and the store over the differing accounts of her visit. Three days later, the investigative podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out procured footage from the store's security cameras that showed her interactions with the staff.

However, the footage did not come with audio, so fans were left to interpret the subject of their discussions from visual cues alone.

The timestamps showed Clarkson entering the store at around 2:50pm on 10 October, wearing an oversized yellow shirt, baggy jeans and a baseball cap.

The video shows Clarkson browsing and picking up items from shelves. A couple of minutes after entering the store, she approached Molly, the automaton bird attached to the wall.

The singer then called the attention of an employee, appearing to inquire about the bird. Clarkson could be seen pointing to Molly and talking to the clerk, who was casually leaning on the counter while speaking to her.

The employee pointed to something obstructed from view before walking off in a different direction. The interaction lasted less than a minute.

Clarkson then returned her items to the shelves and spoke with an employee before exiting the store. She appeared to gesture with her hands before walking out at 2:54pm, with her visit lasting less than five minutes.

Art of Play Owner Calls Clarkson 'Completely Reprehensible' as Her Fans Review Bomb Them

Clarkson visibly reached for her phone after exiting the store, as seen in security footage from the shop's exterior.

She later posted about her encounter on X, calling it her 'Pretty Woman' experience. She claimed that she was looked at as if she couldn't afford the item. At the time of writing, her post had been viewed 46 million times.

The store issued its own response, with the feud escalating when Clarkson called the business a 'liar'. Both sides have been refusing to back down.

While some onlookers changed their opinion after watching the security footage, others argued that it did not prove anything, as they could not be certain of the conversation that occurred.

Observers drew attention to Clarkson's weaponisation of her platform to tarnish the business's reputation, while defenders of the singer argued that she had a right to share her experience regardless of her status.

Art of Play co-owner Adam Rubin spoke out and heavily criticised Clarkson for using her status to 'squash' their business, claiming that the employees were 'in danger'. They had been receiving non-stop phone calls, and content creators had been visiting the store since her first post.

Rubin clarified that they held 'no ill will' towards Clarkson, even inviting her back to the store, but they still found her 'gross abuse of power completely reprehensible, and she should face social consequences'.