Kelly Clarkson has spent a decade and a half singing about what doesn’t kill you. This week, the “Since U Been Gone” star found herself in the middle of a very public showdown over a singing mechanical bird, and the internet has been picking sides ever since.
A $15,000 Bird and a “Pretty Woman” Moment
It started on October 10, when Clarkson posted on X about a visit to Art of Play, a novelty shop in Brooklyn that sells puzzles, games, toys and curiosities. She wrote that she had a few things in mind to buy, but that a staffer looked at her “as if I couldn’t afford it” and offered to find her “something comparable.” Her verdict: “Wow, dude. You’re an idiot and just lost a huge sale.” She capped it off by telling fans to check out the store “if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman.”
The post has since passed 43 million views.
The object of her affection? Molly, a singing and dancing bird automaton with a $15,000 tag hanging beside it. According to the store, Molly is one of a kind, is “permanently attached to the wall” and plays a role in the magic shows hosted there, so she isn’t for sale. The shop said it told Clarkson that Molly’s creator, artist Bliss Kolb, would sell her a nearly identical twin for $15,000, and that staff also offered a different singing bird she could have taken home that day.
Clarkson wasn’t buying that version either. In a follow-up, she said she had pointed at the price tag and asked whether the bird was for sale, and was told yes, “but it costs 15,000 dollars,” with an offer to find something comparable. “You’re not only rude, you’re also a liar,” she wrote, adding that small businesses “don’t get a free pass to treat people less than.”
Security Footage, a Union and “Eight Million People”
Then came the receipts. The store released silent surveillance video of the visit. It shows Clarkson pointing at the bird, chatting briefly with an employee and walking out after roughly five minutes. With no audio, it settles nothing about tone, which is exactly what the whole fight is about.
The store says it was “suddenly attacked by 8 million people who have never visited our store” after “just one mention by a celebrity.” Owner Adam Rubin went further in an interview, saying, “We are afraid for the safety of our shopkeepers. Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger.”
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union also spoke up, saying that whether it’s a celebrity or anyone else, “no customer has the right to abuse retail workers on the floor or mobilize online harassment against them.”
The store has said it reached out to Clarkson directly and hopes “that someday we can all laugh about this misunderstanding.” Clarkson hasn’t publicly responded to that.
Meanwhile, Back on Stage
And Kelly? She did what Kelly does. On Wednesday, October 14, she took the stage at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, grinning through a set that included “Behind These Hazel Eyes,” “Breakaway” and, yes, “My Life Would Suck Without You,” with no sign of the feud anywhere in sight.
Two sides, one silent video and a bird that started it all. This one may not be over, but Kelly clearly isn’t letting it steal her spotlight.
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