Kelly Clarkson seen in leaked CCTV footage in row with New York store

There’s a new twist in Kelly Clarkson’s ongoing feud with the store Art of Play (Picture: Getty/PA) Kelly Clarkson’s increasingly bizarre feud with a New York shop has taken another turn after CCTV footage emerged showing the singer’s brief visit that sparked the online row. The Since U Been Gone hitmaker, 44, found herself at war with Brooklyn curiosity shop Art of Play over the weekend after accusing a member of staff of treating her as though she couldn’t afford its merchandise. Now, security footage obtained by journalist Pablo Torre has offered a glimpse inside the encounter, which lasted less than five minutes but has since caused days of controversy. The silent video shows Clarkson entering the shop wearing a yellow T-shirt, jeans and a grey baseball cap, with a backpack slung over her shoulders. After browsing the shelves, she makes her way towards a mechanical singing bird named Molly, which has unexpectedly become the star of the entire saga. Clarkson can be seen speaking to a shop assistant beside the bird, which has a $15,000 (£11,000) price tag displayed nearby. At one point, the employee appears to gesture towards something before the pair move away from one another. He subsequently seems to point something else out while Clarkson has her back turned. The singer then returns an item to a shelf before approaching another employee at the till, where she appears to speak animatedly, gesturing with her hands, before leaving. The footage contains no audio, meaning it is impossible to establish exactly what was said during the exchange. Nevertheless, it has added another layer to a dispute in which both Clarkson and the shop have offered sharply different accounts of what happened. The trouble began on Saturday when the former American Idol winner took to X to complain about her experience at Art of Play, which sells unusual games, puzzles and mechanical curiosities. The footage shows Clarkson having a brief interaction with an employee (Picture: Pablo Torre) She can be seen in yellow in the video (Picture: Pablo Torre) She claimed she had travelled across Brooklyn specifically to visit the shop, only to be made to feel unwelcome. ‘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,’ she wrote. ‘Wow, dude. You’re an idiot and just lost a huge sale.’ Clarkson then compared the experience to the famous shopping scene in Pretty Woman, in which Julia Roberts’ character is dismissed by snooty sales assistants who assume she cannot afford their clothes. But the store quickly hit back, insisting that the item Clarkson had been interested in was simply unavailable to purchase. Cool, cool. Sure, it wasn’t for sale. That’s the narrative Art of Play is gonna go with 👍 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… pic.twitter.com/9PEhUWnIOt— Kelly Clarkson (@kellyclarkson) October 11, 2026 According to Art of Play, Molly is a specially commissioned mechanical bird permanently attached to the shop’s wall and used during its in-house magic performances. The business said it had offered to help Clarkson purchase a similar creation directly from the artist, Bliss Kolb, for $15,000. It also claimed staff had attempted to show her another singing bird, priced at $2,000, but that she had left before they could do so. Clarkson, however, was having none of it. After images circulated showing a $15,000 price tag beside Molly, she accused the business of being dishonest about what had happened. Clarkson’s original X post read: ‘Wow, dude. You’re an idiot and just lost a huge sale.’ (Picture: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images) ‘Okay, cool. So you’re not only rude, you’re also a liar,’ she wrote. The singer alleged that when she asked whether the bird was available, an employee had looked her up and down before explaining its price in what she described as a condescending tone. She claimed he had told her he could find something comparable instead. ‘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 added. Art of Play has maintained that the $15,000 tag referred to a similar bird available to commission from the artist, rather than Molly herself. Meanwhile, the shop’s owner Adam Rubin has now accused Clarkson of unleashing a torrent of abuse against his small business. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Rubin, 43, claimed staff had received threatening messages and calls, while the shop had been targeted with negative reviews and harassment. Molly, a singing and dancing mechanical bird, by Bliss Kolb, is displayed at Art of Play (Picture: AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) The singer was apparently told they’d find an alternative but similar item for her (Picture: AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) ‘Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger,’ he alleged. ‘We’ve been review-bombed. We’re getting harassed on social media.’ He also claimed people had gathered outside the shop shouting, while neighbours had been subjected to online harassment. Rubin said the backlash had forced him to return to work while recovering from surgery to remove skin cancer, despite being due to have his stitches taken out. ‘None of us are supposed to be here today, especially me,’ he said, adding that he was concerned for the safety of his employees. The shop’s owner alleged: ‘Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger’ (Picture: AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) The owner also alleged that Clarkson had shouted at a member of staff before leaving the premises, declaring that she would never return. He described the controversy as an ‘enormous misunderstanding’ and accused the singer of misusing her considerable public influence. ‘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,’ he said. Clarkson has not publicly responded to Rubin’s latest allegations. The shop is on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn (Picture: artofplay/Instagram) The controversy has divided social media users, with some defending the singer’s right to call out what she perceived as rude treatment, while others have questioned the consequences of publicly naming a small business to millions of followers. And while the newly emerged footage provides a clearer picture of Clarkson’s movements inside the shop, the absence of sound means the central disagreement over the employee’s words and tone remains unresolved. As for Molly, the mechanical bird at the centre of it all, her newfound celebrity has apparently done wonders for her value. Rubin joked that he might now consider parting with the shop’s feathered attraction for an eye-watering $15million. 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