Kelly Clarkson is known for being one of the most likable celebrities on the planet, so when she tweets that a store treated her poorly, people listen. And listen they did. Her post about a Brooklyn shop called Art of Play racked up over 265,000 likes and 44 million views on X after she claimed an employee made her feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. The internet’s response was swift, and the shop started getting flooded with backlash.
But Art of Play isn’t staying quiet. The store’s co-founders say Kelly wanted a one-of-a-kind singing bird automaton named Molly that was never for sale. They claim she was in the store for under five minutes and didn’t even consider a $2,000 alternative bird they showed her. Clarkson fired back, calling the owner a liar and rude. Art of Play posted their own statement about being attacked by millions of people who have never visited their store. Yelp even disabled reviews to stop the flood.
So here we are: a celebrity with a massive platform versus a small business fighting for its reputation, and a public that has to decide which story to believe. Was it a genuine customer service fail, or a misunderstanding blown up by fame? And seriously, would you spend $15,000 on a mechanical singing bird? Drop your take in the comments.
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.