Kelly Clarkson’s now-viral interaction with a Brooklyn shopkeeper she accused of being rude to her over the weekend was caught on camera — and it’s now out there for the world to see.
Journalist Pablo Torre obtained the security footage inside Art of Play in Brooklyn Heights and aired it on the Tuesday episode of his podcast, “Pablo Torre Finds Out.”
Torre noted the “American Idol” winner was in store for only four minutes and 50 seconds, and showed her inside the shop wearing a yellow shirt, jeans, a baseball cap and a backpack.
During the footage, Clarkson is seen browsing the store and playing with a telescope before she comes upon “Molly” — the rare automaton bird at the center of the scandal.
There is no audio with the footage, but she’s seen talking to the shopkeeper about the bird, as he also gestures to it. Their interaction is brief as he then turns around to talk to another customer, which turns out to be the last time they speak to each another.
Clarkson then puts back the telescope she was looking at as she heads for the exit of the store. Before she leaves, however, she turns around and appears angry while standing at the doorway as she talks to the man at the front cash register.
The former talk show host gesticulates animatedly with her hands, as other customers turn to look at her. The man at the cash register points towards Molly, but she eventually just leaves.
Clarkson is then shown outside the store, quickly pulling out her phone.
Torre noted that Clarkson’s casual clothing was very similar to other patrons in the store, suggesting that she was not discriminated against based on her attire.
Torre also shared that he’s been to Art of Play before, and confirmed that “Molly” is only one of two in the world, and that the bird plays an integral part in the opening act of the magic shows that go on at the store.
The feud ignited this weekend when Clarkson dragged Art of Play on social media, accusing an employee of treating her like Julia Roberts’ character in “Pretty Woman” after allegedly assuming she couldn’t afford the mechanical singing bird, which had a price tag of $15,000. (The price tag now reads $15 million.)
Clarkson alleged that the staffer looked her up and down before condescendingly offering to find her a cheaper alternative, prompting her to call him an “idiot” who had lost a “huge sale.”
However, the store fired back, insisting that the bird was not actually for sale. They said they offered to show her a different $2,000 automaton — an offer she did not take them up on.
Clarkson, 44, subsequently accused the store of lying about the exchange, while the owners said they had tried reaching out to her in hopes of making amends.
On Tuesday, Art of Play co-owner Adam Rubin spoke to Page Six and blasted the singer for her “reprehensible abuse of power”after her public complaints allegedly unleashed a torrent of online harassment against his small business.
“It’s a pop star, a mechanical bird, it’s surreal. When this thing first started, everybody wanted us to die,” Rubin told us, referring to the hundreds of threatening messages his staffers have received since Clarkson dragged their store on social media.
“And as the truth has come to light, thinking people realize this is reprehensible abuse of power,” he continued. “We have to reconsider the place we give celebrities in our society.”
Sources close to the singer previously told Page Six that Clarkson’s reaction to her experience is out of character for the Grammy winner.
“If she’s actually calling out a store publicly, she must’ve been livid,” an insider exclusively told us. “You know something must have really bothered her because that’s just not who she is.”
“Kelly is seriously one of the most down to earth people you could ever meet,” the source added. “She’s usually chill and genuinely one of the nicest people ever.”
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