What started as a quick stop at a Brooklyn toy shop has exploded into one of the biggest celebrity clashes of the week. Kelly Clarkson's viral complaint about being treated like Julia Roberts in "Pretty Woman" put a small Brooklyn business in the spotlight, and now the store's owner says the fallout has left him fearing for his shop's safety.
New security footage of the singer's visit has just surfaced, and the bizarre mechanical bird at the center of it all now carries a mind-blowing $15 million price tag. Here is the full story behind the feud everyone is talking about.
The Store Owner Speaks Out: "She Put Us in Danger"
Adam Rubin, co-owner of Art of Play in Brooklyn Heights, spoke with Fox News Digital on Tuesday morning inside his shop, saying the singer has put his business at risk after their viral dispute over a $15,000 mechanical singing bird.
"But I am afraid for the safety of our shop. Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger," Rubin said. He claimed the backlash has gone far beyond angry comments online, with people connected to the business facing threats and having their personal information exposed. "We've got incredible support from our neighbors and fans over the past few days and all of them have been attacked, threatened, doxed," he added.
Rubin also accused the "American Idol" winner of an "abuse of power," arguing that her enormous platform has intensified the pile-on against his small shop. "You can't just try to squash somebody like a bug and expect everybody to give you a pass," he said, adding that he was frustrated by strangers who had never set foot in his store joining the backlash.
Leaked Security Footage Shows What Really Happened Inside
Journalist Pablo Torre obtained the store's security footage and aired it Tuesday on his podcast, "Pablo Torre Finds Out," giving the public its first look at Clarkson's visit.
The silent footage shows Clarkson spending just four minutes and 50 seconds inside Art of Play. Wearing a yellow shirt, jeans, a baseball cap and a backpack, she browses the shelves and plays with a telescope before coming across "Molly," the rare automaton bird at the center of the scandal.
She is seen talking briefly with the shopkeeper about the bird as he gestures toward it. Their interaction is short, and the shopkeeper soon turns away to help another customer. Clarkson then puts the telescope back and heads for the door, but pauses at the doorway, appearing to speak animatedly with the man at the front cash register while other customers turn to look. She eventually leaves and is shown outside, pulling out her phone.
The $15,000 Bird Now Carries a $15 Million Price Tag
The mechanical bird that sparked the whole dispute has undergone a dramatic transformation of its own. A photograph taken Tuesday by Fox News Digital shows a new sign beside Molly identifying it as a creation of artist Bliss Kolb, with an eye-popping price of $15 million.
Clarkson's original post over the weekend accused the store of being rude to her and treating her like the character in "Pretty Woman" who is snubbed by salespeople, and the post instantly went viral.
Whether the new eight-figure price tag is a joke, a marketing move, or something more serious, it has only added fuel to a story that shows no sign of slowing down. Clarkson has not publicly responded to Rubin's latest claims."
