The co-owner of the Brooklyn store at the center of Kelly Clarkson’s alleged Pretty Woman drama is doubling down on recent comments he made about the singer.
“When this thing first started, everybody wanted us to die. And as the truth has come to light, thinking people realize this is reprehensible abuse of power,” New York City’s Art of Play co-owner Adam Rubin told Page Six in a Wednesday, October 14, interview. “We have to reconsider the place we give celebrities in our society.”
Rubin continued, “And this is not how you can behave as a citizen in the world, like, if you are this famous and powerful and you try to squash someone like a bug, then we’re supposed to blame the trolls for all the damage that’s inflicted. She lit the fuse.”
The drama between Rubin and Clarkson, 44, ignited over the weekend after the singer visited Art of Play, a store that specializes in toys and games. The American Idol winner took to social media to share what she claimed was a negative experience at the Brooklyn based business, accusing an employee of treating her as if she couldn’t afford the items featured.
“Just drove all the way to Brooklyn to check out this store I thought looked really rad and had a few things in mind to buy and literally was looked at as if I couldn’t afford it and was told he could find something comparable for me,” Clarkson alleged via X on Saturday, October 10. “Wow, dude. You’re an idiot and just lost a huge sale. But y’all should go check out Art of Play in Brooklyn if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman. For sure, check it out 👎.”
After Clarkson’s claims went viral, Art of Play’s official account took to social media multiple times to defend itself. Rubin claimed on Wednesday that Clarkson was not recognizable to anyone in the store at the time of the alleged incident and people who are “way more famous” than the Grammy winner have shopped at the Art of Play and – like her — were treated like any other customer.
“Nobody recognized her. Nobody knew who she was. We have celebrities coming all the time. We are not reading the gossip columns. We’re not watching TV. We don’t know who people are,” he told the outlet. “What happens is somebody comes in, they shop, we treat them like we would treat everybody else.”
Clarkson was interested in purchasing an animatronic bird named Molly hanging on the store’s wall. The “Stronger” musician has maintained that the bird had a price tag of $15,000. Rubin claims that the bird in question serves as the store’s mascot and, as a result, is not for sale.
He did clarify that the staff can be in touch with the artist who created the display to get “seriously interested buyers” to purchase a similar version.
“She asked about the bird. It’s on the wall, and attached permanently. It was explained to her that it’s a complicated situation to get these things made,” Rubin explained. “They take years. There’s one guy that makes them, and if we have seriously interested buyers, then we talk to the artist and try to work something out.”
Molly’s price tag has now gone up to $15 million amid the drama.
“In the past 72 hours, Molly, a singing bird automaton has become the most famous singing bird automaton in the world,” Rubin said. “And we have raised the price from $15,000 to $15 million. And if somebody walks into the shop with $15 million, they can take the thing off the wall and enjoy it in their home.”
