Brooklyn novelty shop reeling from ‘surreal’ row with Kelly Clarkson over $15m bird

On a rainy Wednesday afternoon, a novelty toy and games story in the quiet Brooklyn neighbourhood of Cobble Hill was seeing much busier foot traffic than usual.

Inside, the shop was packed with cameramen and customers, while people walking by the store looked inside, asking: “Where’s the bird?”

The boutique store, Art of Play, has found itself at the centre of a social media storm, after Grammy-winning musician Kelly Clarkson complained online that the shop would not let her buy a singing and dancing mechanical bird that was perched on the wall.

The Since U Been Gone singer claimed she was “looked at as if I couldn’t afford” the bird – which she said had a price tag of $15,000 (£11,000).

“Y’all should go check out Art of Play in Brooklyn if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman,” she said, referring to a scene from the romantic comedy movie where Roberts’ character is treated poorly by staff at a shop, who imply she cannot afford various items.

In a follow-up post on social media, Clarkson said the store had told her the bird cost $15,000 and that they could find her something else “comparable”.

Art of Play has defended how it treated the star on social media, saying the wooden bird – which is called Molly – is permanently attached to the wall and is not for sale.

It said that during Clarkson’s five-minute visit, an employee suggested to her that she could buy an identical bird for $15,000.

They also said they had offered her a different singing bird for $2,000 from a clockmaking shop in Germany, which she could have purchased that day.

“Imagine our surprise when our small local business was suddenly attacked by eight million people who have never visited our store,” Art of Play said.

“It’s been a surreal experience to be the focus of such widespread outrage after just one mention by a celebrity.”