Untangling Kelly Clarkson’s Feud With Brooklyn Store Art of Play

But when employees spied Clarkson’s post—which has racked up more than 43 million views—they weren’t interested in playing games. 

According to the brand’s Oct. 11 Instagram post, Molly is “a one-of-a-kind” piece “who plays an important role in the magic shows we host here.” In other words, they detailed, “Molly is permanently attached to the wall and isn’t for sale.”

Still, they could see where they hadn’t exactly played their cards right. 

“At Art of Play whether someone comes in to make a purchase or simply look around for a while, they are equally welcome,” they insisted in their post. “We greet everyone who walks in the door with the invitation to ‘pick things up and play.’ And they do, many stay for hours enjoying our puzzles, games and toys.” 

The way the OG American Idol champ saw it, “you’re not only rude, you’re also a liar. Got it.” 

And for the record, she knows her life would suck without small businesses, “but you don’t get a free pass to treat people less than in your store just because you are a small business.” 

Not the sort to put people on blast, “you my friend were an exception,” she stressed. “Your store is really cool. Unfortunately, you aren’t.” 

Here’s the thing, the brand responded in yet another Instagram post Oct. 12, they started out friends. It was cool, but it was all pretend. 

Because they recalled telling Clarkson during her five-minute visit that Molly “is permanently attached to the wall and serves as a de facto mascot for our shop.” They did, however, have access to “a nearly identical automaton.” Though artist Bliss Kolb‘s creation was at his Seattle home, “He told us he would be willing to part with Molly’s twin for $15,000. We explained all of this to Kelly Clarkson.” 

On top of that, they offered up “a different singing bird automaton, made by a traditional clockmaking shop in Germany, that she could have taken home with her that day,” the store added in their post, noting the musician didn’t stick around long enough to check out the $2,000 piece. 

They acknowledged that they had their chance, they blew it. But they’re willing to explain themselves to Clarkson again and again and again and again. 

“We’ve reached out to Kelly directly to try and clear the air,” they concluded in their post. “We really do wish her the best and hope that someday we can all laugh about this misunderstanding.” 

Since Clarkson has yet to respond to their follow-up, we can all breathe for the first time since this back-and-forth began—and check out some other celebrity-related feuds.