'Kelly Clarkson put us in danger': Store owner fires back in escalating 'Pretty Woman' feud

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Kelly Clarkson’s viral dust-up with a Brooklyn store over a $15,000 mechanical singing bird has led to threats, Art of Play co-owner Adam Rubin claims.

“I am afraid for the safety of our shop. Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger,” Rubin told Fox News Digital.

Rubin, who describes his store as a “curiosity shop” and a destination “to make people feel like a kid again,” tells the outlet that personnel are allegedly facing threats.

“We’ve got incredible support from our neighbours and fans over the past few days, and all of them have been attacked, threatened, doxed,” he said.

“We are afraid for the safety of our shopkeepers,” Rubin added in a separate interview with USA Today.

Rubin said Clarkson went unrecognized and was there for “less than five minutes.”

“We treated her like a normal person but apparently that did not live up to her expectations,” Rubin said.

He also told USA Today that Clarkson scolded one employee, but did not elaborate on the interaction.

“Nothing happened in this shop to justify her scolding our shopkeeper on the way out, but I could let that go. Everybody has a bad day,” he said. “But things changed when she used her platform to attack us. It’s asymmetrical social warfare.”

But Rubin said that with the flurry of attention Art of Play has received, the bird’s asking price has now gone up to $15 million.

Security video footage revealed

In video shared by podcaster Pablo Torre, Clarkson was seen browsing items and interacting with employees inside the store for 4 minutes and 50 seconds.

In the silent clip, Clarkson speaks to associates and picks up various items.

On X, where the video has racked up more than 2.3 million views, many users said Torre’s footage didn’t support either side.

But with the store clearly crowded, one person suggested that other customers should come forward to detail what went down.

“Can one of the people who was there just tell us what actually happened so we can wrap this up?” they asked.

She said she was there to inquire about purchasing “Molly,” an automaton bird mounted to the wall.

Fifteen minutes after she exited the shop, Clarkson took to social media to blast Art of Play, alleging she was treated in a way that mirrored Julia Roberts’ character Vivian’s experience in the 1990 rom-com Pretty Woman.

“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. 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,” Clarkson wrote in an X post that has been viewed more than 46 million times.

Art of Play tried to douse the firestorm by issuing a series of social mediaresponses of their own in which they said the bird “is permanently attached to the wall and isn’t for sale” and that they tried to interest Clarkson in different pieces.

But Clarkson returned to social media to rip the store again, calling the shop owner “rude and a liar” and telling her 8.8 million followers on X that she never publicly blasts businesses, “but you my friend were an exception.”

She also shared a photo that showed the robot bird was for sale for $15,000.

Rubin said the price tag was meant to reflect how much it would cost to order a similar robot bird from the artist, Seattle creator Bliss Kolb.

“We talked to the creator and if someone showed serious interest, we would reach out to him about getting them an automaton,” he told USA Today. “They take years to make. This is not something that’s sitting in a warehouse.”

He also accused the platinum-selling singer of using her fame to try and ruin a small business.

“This is not how you can behave as a citizen in the world, like, if you are this famous and powerful and you try to squash someone like a bug, then we’re supposed to blame the trolls for all the damage that’s inflicted. She lit the fuse,” he told Page Six.

Despite the public dispute, Rubin said Clarkson is still welcome back at Art of Play.

“We messaged her. I don’t know if she saw it. I don’t know if she cares,” Rubin said.

mdaniell@postmedia.com