USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
The NYC shop owner at the center of the Kelly Clarkson controversy is speaking out.
Over the weekend, Clarkson put a small hobby store on blast after they apparently refused to sell her a $15k mechanical bird.
Just drove all the way to Brooklyn to check out this store I thought looked really rad and had a few things in mind to buy and literally was looked at as if I couldn’t afford it and was told he could find something comparable for me. Wow, dude. You’re an idiot and just lost a huge sale. But y’all should go check out Art of Play in Brooklyn if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman. For sure, check it out 👎
— Kelly Clarkson (@kellyclarkson) October 10, 2026
The store and the pop star went back and forth, with the store denying Clarkson’s claims.
On Tuesday, the shop’s owner Adam Rubin condemned Clarkson for using her platform to attack a small business. Rubin claims he and his employees have been receiving threats from unhinged Clarkson fans following the incident.
“I’m not even supposed to be here today. I got a cancer removed from my face last week. I’m getting the stitches out tonight, but we are afraid for the safety of our shopkeepers. Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger. Not just are people showing up in person, but our neighbors are getting doxxed and review bombed. People are getting threatened on the street. And the worst part is, we didn’t know this was going to happen, but Kelly Clarkson did.”
“I would invite Kelly Clarkson to come to the shop, see a show, get whatever she wants. If she sees something that she likes and we have something comparable, we may show it to her. I can’t promise we won’t show her similar items if she’s interested in one, but this is an insane misunderstanding. Like, nothing happened in this shop to justify her scolding our shopkeeper on the way out, but I could let that go. You know, everybody has a bad day. If it is this intense to be merely mentioned by Kelly Clarkson, I can only imagine how intense it is to be Kelly Clarkson. every single day, but things changed when she used her platform to attack us.”
😳 Kelly Clarkson Bird Feud: Art of Play co-owner says employees are getting threats.
“Kelly Clarkson has put us all in danger.” https://t.co/2PrA3pKFiU
— TMZ (@TMZ) October 13, 2026
The Athletic’s Pablo Torre released surveillance footage of the incident, sparking more debate among fans online.
EXCLUSIVE: Security footage shows Kelly Clarkson’s $15,000 mechanical-bird encounter — and what happened on her way out of the tiny Brooklyn shop.
Was the singer’s “Karen moment” worth the “Pretty Woman” fallout? https://t.co/QuAW1MSk5y
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) October 14, 2026
Clarkson has yet to speak publicly to anyone after putting the shop on blast on social media.