New surveillance video is shedding light about the circumstances behind the viral feud between singer Kelly Clarkson and a novelty store in Brooklyn.
The video, which was obtained by the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast and does not have any audio, appears to show the moments leading up to Clarkson’s social media complaint about the customer service treatment she said she received at Art of Play, a magic and games store.
Clarkson appears in the grainy surveillance video wearing a yellow shirt and baseball cap. She can be seen browsing items in the store, testing a kaleidoscope and examining a wooden songbird on display named “Molly.”
The singer is then seen setting the kaleidoscope down, moving toward the bird, talking to an employee, presumably about the bird, pointing at it and later, moving toward the exit, before backtracking to speak to a cashier.
Shortly after the store encounter, Clarkson posted on X, comparing her experience to that of the fictional Vivian’s experience with staff at a clothing store in the 1990 movie Pretty Woman.
In a social media statement, Art of Play said Clarkson had inquired about “Molly,” a one-of-a-kind automaton that serves as the store’s mascot and is not available for sale.
Clarkson responded with another X post, sharing an alleged photo of “Molly” with a price tag nearby, and claiming a store employee told her “Molly” could be purchased for $15,000 before offering to show her another comparable item that cost less.
Art of Play co-owner Adam Rubin told online publication Curbed that Clarkson’s decision to share the interaction online has put his store employees “in danger.”
“We treated her like a normal person, but apparently that didn’t live up to her expectations,” Rubin said.
Since Clarkson’s online posts were shared, Rubin said Art of Play has been flooded with backlash, including harassing messages and negative reviews.
Neither Clarkson nor Art of Play immediately replied to ABC News’ request for comment.
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