When a dispute is brought to the court of public opinion, the winner is not necessarily the one who is technically “right.” He’s the one who crafts the best story.
That’s the main thing Kelly Clarkson is missing in her viral dispute with a Brooklyn small business, according to Evan Nierman, CEO of global public relations firm Red Banyan.
“It’s more about feelings than facts,” Nierman said.
The high-profile brouhaha began Saturday, when Clarkson shared a post on X about her recent visit to Art of Play, a store that sells toys, puzzles, gifts and other oddities.
Clarkson said she was treated poorly at the store, comparing herself to Julia Roberts.Pretty woman” heroine – specifically, the memorable scene in which she is rejected and mocked in a chic Beverly Hills boutique.
Clarkson said she tried to buy something expensive at Art of Play, but was treated like she “couldn’t afford it.”
However, the store employee Clarkson dealt with remembers the interaction differently. Art of Play responded with a public statement, saying Clarkson had inquired about a one-of-a-kind mechanical puppet nicknamed “Molly”, and was told it was not for sale.
When Clarkson doubled down, insisting Molly had a $15,000 prize and calling the employee a “liar,” Art of Play clarified his claim. In a later statement on Instagram, the store said Clarkson was offered a nearly identical version of the bird, created by the same artist, for $15,000, as well as a comparable version from another manufacturer for $2,000.
Who is right and what really happened? We may never know, and it probably won’t matter in the long run. But from a public relations standpoint, Nierman said this back-and-forth over trivial details was neither compelling nor productive.
“Kelly Clarkson and the store are trying to play the victim card in this dispute,” Nierman said. “But the only people who really know what happened that fateful morning were the saleswoman, Kelly Clarkson, and Molly, the bird, who will never sing.”
The ‘victim card’ can only take you so far
Nierman pointed out that Clarkson doesn’t have much to lose by airing his petty grievances on social media. She’s a rich and famous singer with three Grammy Awards and almost 9 million followers on X.
“It would be difficult to argue that her life is going to be derailed in any significant way, even if she was mistreated by the store and its staff,” Nierman said.
But Clarkson doesn’t have much to gain here either.
Playing the “victim card,” she ignored the etiquette of online power dynamics, sending her loyal fans to a small business during a brief interaction. Even if everything she said was true and Clarkson was truly mistreated by store staff, the consequences are not flattering.
“They both want to be right, when what they should be looking for is a way out where they could both look good instead of being the victim in these circumstances,” Nierman said.
Any idea? The fight started for a bird, so maybe it should end with a bird.
“The best possible outcome at this point would be to take her back to the store and find a way to get her a songbird,” Nierman continued. “That would settle all of this very nicely, and everyone could move forward and deal with more important issues.”
You know what they say: It’s not over until Molly, the animatronic bird, sings.
Gn entert
