Updated October 11, 2026, 5 p.m. ET
Kelly Clarkson says a Brooklyn store just made a big mistake. Big. Huge!
The “American Idol” alum, 44, went to X on Oct. 10 to call a Brooklyn store after allegedly having a negative experience there, which she compared to a famous scene from the movie “Pretty Woman.”
“I drove up to Brooklyn to visit this store that I thought was really cool and I had a few things in mind to buy and they literally looked at me like I couldn’t afford it and told me they could find something comparable for me,” Clarkson said. “Wow, man. You’re an idiot and you just lost a huge sale.”
The singer and talk show host said the incident happened at Art of Play, a curiosity store in Brooklyn, and she sarcastically told fans to check the place out “if you like being treated like Julia Roberts’ character in ‘Pretty Woman.'”
Clarkson referenced a scene in “Pretty Woman” where Roberts’ character is shopping and is rudely told that she is “in the wrong place” because the clothes there are too expensive for her. The next day, she returned to the store, carrying several shopping bags and dressed in fancier clothes, to tell the salespeople that they had made a “big mistake.” Fat. Huge !
Brooklyn store responds to Kelly Clarkson allegations
Art of Play responded in an Instagram post on October 11. In a statement, the store claimed that when Clarkson passed by, she asked how to purchase a “one-of-a-kind singing and dancing bird automaton that plays an important role in the magic shows we put on here” and is not for sale. “However, the negative experience Kelly described on Twitter would resonate with anyone who has ever felt judged in a store.”
The statement went on to add that it has been “a surreal experience to be at the center of such outrage after just one celebrity mention” and to be attacked online by millions of people who have never visited the store.
“Thank you to all our friends for their support and welcome to all the curious people who discovered us in the middle of the drama,” concludes the store’s press release. “We’re going to keep our heads down and hopefully we can clear things up with Kelly one day. As a talented popular singer once said, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’ “
Art of Play features a “unique collection of magical homewares, puzzles, games, toys and books,” as well as a theater that hosts “performances from the world’s best close-up magicians,” according to its website. Online reviews of the store before the Clarkson incident were largely positive, with one user writing on Google reviews that it had a “fantastic shopping experience” and another saying it had the “nicest, most helpful employees.” But after Clarkson’s post, the store’s Yelp and Facebook pages were flooded with comments supporting the singer, with several fans posting the “Pretty Woman” scene.
Clarkson’s call received a mixed response on X. Some supporters took his side, while others argued that there was no need to call the establishment by name. “All she did here was use her fame to bring down a small business,” one post from X read.
But the clip’s director, Joseph Kahn, responded by posting that Clarkson is “the nicest person I’ve ever worked with,” adding that if you upset her enough that “she tweets about you, you need to rethink your life choices.”
Clarkson just finished her daytime talk show “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” the final episode of which aired in August. During a September appearance on the “Las Culturistas” podcast, she opened up about what she loves about raising her kids in New York.
“It’s a great city, I will say, to raise kids in, too, because I haven’t really been exposed to different cultures. I haven’t really been exposed to anything like that,” she said. “I love where I grew up, and obviously everything turned out great. But I just wanted to say it’s a cool thing for them to have all the colors of the rainbow, all the personality colors, everything.”
Contributor: KiMi Robinson
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