Art of Play co-owner Adam Rubin is speaking out about the backlash the Brooklyn specialty shop has received following its public dispute with Kelly Clarkson, alleging that the business and people associated with it have faced harassment and threats since the singer criticized her shopping experience online.
In an interview with Curbed published on Tuesday (Oct. 13), Rubin described the situation as an “insane misunderstanding” and said the attention surrounding the incident has put the store and its employees in a difficult position.
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“Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger,” Rubin said, claiming that people have been threatened in the street and that individuals expressing support for the store online have also faced attacks.
According to Rubin, the shop has received phone calls, emails and negative reviews across several different platforms. He also claimed that people have shown up outside of the business in order to confront staff and that online users have shared personal information about neighbors who filmed the whole ordeal.
Rubin said the volume of messages became so overwhelming that the store turned off its phone. He said that comments were still continuing to appear on the shop’s point-of-sale iPad while employees were in the middle of assisting customers.
“There’s so much hate speech, so many threats of violence. If an actual customer tries to get in touch with us right now, they will never be able to,” Rubin said.
The controversy began Saturday (Oct. 10), when Clarkson criticized Art of Play on X after visiting the Brooklyn shop. The singer said she felt as though she had been judged as unable to afford an item she wanted to purchase, comparing the experience to Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman.
Art of Play subsequently responded on social media, disputing Clarkson’s account of the interaction and explaining that the item in question was a mechanical singing bird named Molly. According to the store, the bird is permanently attached to a wall and is used in the magic shows hosted at the shop.
The business identified Molly’s creator as artist Bliss Kolb and initially said the bird was not for sale.
The store’s explanation prompted further conversations to circulate online, especially after images surfaced of a price tag being shown near the bird. Clarkson also responded publicly, standing her ground on the fact that a store employee had told her the item was available for $15,000 before offering to find her something comparable.
In a subsequent Instagram statement, Art of Play provided additional details about its version of the encounter. The store said a nearly identical automaton owned by Kolb was available for $15,000 and that an employee had also offered to show Clarkson a different singing bird automaton, made by a German clockmaking shop, that cost approximately $2,000.
According to the store, Clarkson left before seeing the alternative item. Art of Play also said it had reached out to the singer directly in an effort to resolve the misunderstanding.
Rubin addressed the distinction between Molly and her “twin” automaton during his Curbed interview, explaining that the store works directly with artisans who produce limited numbers of their creations. He said the shop had placed a price on Molly after receiving questions about the piece but explained that acquiring another automaton would require contacting its creator.
When asked about the price, Rubin joked, “As you’ve noticed, we’ve raised the price due to popular demand. It now costs $15 million.”
Rubin also described the store’s account of the original interaction, saying the shop was busy when Clarkson visited and that she spent less than five minutes inside.
“If this tweetstorm had not happened, we wouldn’t have realized there was a negative interaction in the shop; it was that undramatic,” Rubin said. “We treated her like a normal person, but apparently that didn’t live up to her expectations.”
Despite the online backlash, Rubin said the store had also received in-person support, including people bringing pastries and cupcakes while the business was closed Monday.
When asked whether the store had received increased interest in the approximately $2,000 bird, Rubin acknowledged that people were asking about it before ending the interview.
Art of Play’s public statements have maintained the incident stemmed from a misunderstanding. Clarkson, meanwhile, has stood by her description of the interaction and has said that supporting small businesses does not mean accepting poor treatment as a customer. Billboard has also reached out to Clarkson’s representatives for further comment.
Neither party’s account of the in-store conversation has been independently established.
Read some of the Curbed interview below.