Clarkson’s Brooklyn Store Dispute: Security Footage and Owner’s Claims

Silent video captured inside a Brooklyn retail space provides visual context for the dispute between singer Kelly Clarkson and shop owner Adam Rubin. The footage, streamed by journalist and podcaster Pablo Torre, depicts Clarkson entering Art of Play and approaching Molly, a mechanical singing and dancing bird that has become the focal point of the controversy.

Pablo Torre

Security Camera Details

Clarkson spent four minutes and 50 seconds inside the establishment. She appears to speak with a staff member near the yellow wooden automaton. The employee seems to point something out to her before the pair walk in opposite directions. Later, the singer is seen returning an item to a shelf before apparently addressing a cashier, gesturing with her arms, and leaving the store.

The recording contains no audio, meaning it does not establish what was said during the exchange. However, Clarkson apparently told the shopkeeper she would never return.

Owner’s Account of Confrontation

Shop owner Adam Rubin offered his own account of the confrontation, telling the Daily Mail that Clarkson yelled at staff as she left and declared she would never return. The dispute erupted on Saturday when Clarkson posted on social media accusing the store of treating her as though she could not afford the $15,000 bird.

She compared the experience to a scene from the 1990 film Pretty Woman, in which Julia Roberts plays a prostitute who is dismissed by staff at a luxury Beverly Hills clothing store. “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,” Clarkson wrote on X.

Store’s Initial Response

“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.’” The shop quickly pushed back, insisting that Molly was not for sale because she was permanently attached to the wall and served as a mascot for its magic shows.

“Yesterday, Kelly Clarkson visited us in Brooklyn and inquired about buying “Molly,” a one-of-a-kind singing and dancing bird automaton who plays an important role in the magic shows we host here. Molly is permanently attached to the wall and isn’t for sale," Art of Play said in a statement posted on Instagram.

Detailed Explanation and Alternatives

The business subsequently offered a more detailed explanation, saying staff had told Clarkson that the bird on display was not available for purchase, but that its creator, Seattle-based artist Bliss Kolb, owned an almost identical automaton that could be bought for $15,000. “We explained all of this to Kelly Clarkson,” the shop claimed.

Clarkson was dressed casually in a baggy yellow t-shirt, blue jeans, a baseball cap and a backpack. The shop also claimed it had offered to show Clarkson another singing bird, made by a traditional German clockmaking company, which cost around $2,000 and was available to take home immediately. According to the store, she left before seeing it.

Clarkson’s Rebuttal

Clarkson rejected that account, accusing the owner of being both “rude” and a “liar” in a series of Instagram Stories posts. “Cool, cool. Sure, it wasn’t for sale. That’s the narrative Art of Play is gonna go with,” she wrote sarcastically, disputing the shop’s claim that Molly was unavailable and alleging that a price tag had been hanging beside the bird when she asked about buying it.

“So the whole conversation we had when I asked you if it was for sale whilst pointing to the price tag hanging on the wall with the title Singing Bird didn’t happen as you elevator eyed me saying in a condescending tone, ‘Yes, it’s for sale but it costs $15,000, so if you’d like me to find something comparable for you I can.’ That all never happened and now it’s not for sale.” “So you’re not only rude, you’re also a liar. Got it,” she added in a separate post.

Support for Small Businesses

The singer, who moved to New York City in 2023, also defended her support for independent businesses, arguing that shopping at Art of Play was itself evidence of that commitment. “I love small businesses and know they are important and I always support them, but you don’t get a free pass to treat people less than in your store just because you are a small business,” she wrote. Clarkson described the shop as “really cool” but added of its owner: “Unfortunately, you aren’t.”

Allegations of Harassment

Rubin has since accused the singer of unleashing a wave of abuse against his business, claiming the fallout has left employees worried about their safety. Speaking to the Daily Mail, the owner said the shop had received threatening phone calls and text messages, been targeted by online review-bombing and faced harassment on social media. He also alleged that people had turned up outside the store to shout at staff and that neighbors had been doxxed.

“Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger,” Rubin said. “We are afraid for the safety of our shopkeepers.” Rubin, who said he is currently recovering from skin cancer surgery, added that he believed the singer knew the potential consequences of publicly criticizing a small business with such a large audience. “We had no idea this could happen, but here’s the thing: Kelly Clarkson did, and she chose to do it anyway,” he said.

Escalation and Aftermath

He described the spat as an “enormous misunderstanding” that had escalated into what he called a “reprehensible abuse of power.” “When you have the platform, fame, money, and power that she has, you can’t just try to squash somebody like a bug and expect everybody to give you a pass,” Rubin said.

But on the bright side, the controversy has turned Molly into an unlikely celebrity, with Rubin joking that the mechanical bird is now worth 1,000 times more than before the drama erupted. “She is currently, and probably for the rest of time, the most famous automaton in the world,” he said.

Rubin even floated the idea of selling Molly for $15 million, with $15,000 going to each shopkeeper, $1 million handed to creator Bliss Kolb, and the rest used to expand the store’s collection. “You can do a lot with $15m,” he said, adding a pointed final jab at the singer: “Kelly Clarkson would know.”