Kelly Clarkson publicly called out a Brooklyn shop she says snubbed her, and it was swamped with criticism. Should stars name and shame businesses online?
Clarkson said a staffer at Art of Play treated her as if she couldn't afford a $15,000 singing bird automaton. The shop says that bird is part of its magic shows and not for sale, and that it was "attacked by 8 million people who have never visited our store". Clarkson has called the owners liars.
What happened
On 10 October Kelly Clarkson posted on X that a staffer at Art of Play, a Brooklyn magic and puzzle shop, treated her as if she couldn't afford what she wanted. She called him an idiot and compared it to the shop scene in Pretty Woman. The shop said she had asked to buy Molly, a one-of-a-kind singing bird automaton fixed to the wall and used in its magic shows. Clarkson replied with a photo of a $15,000 price tag and called the owners liars. The shop says that price is for a nearly identical bird by a Seattle maker, and that it offered her a different automaton for about $2,000.
Why people disagree
Some say celebrities are customers like anyone else, and sharing a bad experience warns others and holds businesses to account; Clarkson says small businesses don't get a free pass to treat people badly. Others say a post to millions of followers lands very differently from an ordinary review, and a small shop can be swamped with criticism over a disputed account before it has a chance to respond.
What's still unclear
What was actually said in the shop: the two accounts conflict and nothing independent has been published. It's also unclear whether Clarkson and the owners will talk privately; the shop says it has reached out to her.
Sources
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