The owners of a popular Brooklyn novelty shop pushed back amid a wave of online vitriol Sunday after Kelly Clarkson claimed she’d gotten the so-called “Pretty Woman” treatment during a recent visit, saying that the item the “American Idol” star wanted to buy was the store’s mascot, which wasn’t for sale.
The “American Idol” winner and “The Voice” judge said an employee at Art of Play on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn Heights had treated her as if she couldn’t afford to shop there — much like Julia Roberts’ character in the 1990 movie co-starring Richard Gere.
“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 fumed on Twitter. “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.”
The post was punctuated with a thumbs-down emoji.
Julian Roberts-Grmela / NYDN
Art of Play opened in Brooklyn Heights in 2024. (Julian Roberts-Grmela / NYDN)
In the 1990 movie starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, Roberts’ character, an escort named Vivian, returns to a boutique that snubbed her and chews out the sales clerk after acquiring high-end duds elsewhere.
“Hi, do you remember me? I was in here yesterday [and] you wouldn’t wait on me,” Roberts’ character said in the famous scene. “You work on commission, right? Big mistake. Big. Huge. I have to go shopping now!”
Vivian did not have X. Clarkson went bigger, expressing her ire online to her 8.8 million followers.
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. Wow, dude. You’re an idiot and just lost a…
— Kelly Clarkson (@kellyclarkson) October 10, 2026
Art of Play first posted a review on its Instagram story on Sunday, indirectly refuting any notions of disrespect.
“From the very first time I walked into @artofplay, I felt welcomed and treated with such genuine kindness,” the anonymous reviewer said in the post. “I love discovering unique treasures and connecting with the wonderful people there.”
The review called the store “a place that leaves you smiling and wanting to come back. I’m already counting down the days until I return in two weeks.”
Similar support poured in from avid fans of the store throughout the day, all posted to Art of Play’s Instagram stories. The store’s owners posted a response to Clarkson’s complaint Sunday afternoon.
“Yesterday, Kelly Clarkson visited us in Brooklyn and inquired about buying ‘Molly,’ a one-of-a-kind singing and dancing bird automaton who plays an important role in the magic shows we host here,” read a post on Art of Play’s Instagram account. “Molly is permanently attached to the wall and isn’t for sale. However, the negative experience Kelly described on (X) would resonate with anyone who has ever felt judged in a shop.”
The owners said everyone is “equally welcome” whether they’re buying or browsing and that anyone who walks in is invited to “pick things up and play.”
Molly functions as the store’s mascot, Art of Play noted in a February 2025 post with a hat tip to her creator, artist Blisd Kolb.
“Imagine our surprise when our small local business was suddenly attacked by 8 million people who have never visited our store,” the owners said in the Instagram story rebuttal. “It’s been a surreal experience to be the focus of such widespread outrage after just one mention by a celebrity.”
Art of Play opened in Brooklyn Heights in 2024, transplanted from San Diego by identical twin founders Dan and Dave Buck, according to the Brooklyn Paper in a profile.
Julian Roberts-Grmela / NYDN
Art of Play on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn sells eclectic games, puzzles, home goods, books, gift items, and collectible playing cards. (Julian Roberts-Grmela / NYDN)
It sells eclectic games, puzzles, home goods, books, gift items, and collectible playing cards, and has an 18-seat theater. The store, “a place to discover magic” according to its logo, is more geared to adults than children, though its website says all ages are welcome to explore. The goal was to “create an antidote to the mindless scroll,” children’s book author and Art of Play partner Adam Rubin told Brooklyn Paper in 2024.
Its higher-end home goods items include a Sisyphus Kinetic Art Table for $4,100, a Yama Tower that brews coffee Kyoto-style for $400, and a Hummingbird Flipbook Machine that’s $2,400. A number of “Playful Gifts” land in the below-$50 range.
The store is known far outside New York City and is a destination for tourists such as 21-year-old customer Annie Qin, who told The News that Art of Play was “a big reason” she chose to visit the city. She said it had “great vibes” and “very friendly shopkeepers.”
Qin’s love of poker brought her to the store for its unique playing card collection, she told The News as she shopped. It was her first time there, and she and her companions stayed for an hour and a half browsing the merchandise, then playing cards after the shopkeepers set them up with a table and makeshift poker chips.
“The store is incredible,” she said. “I love it. Like, very friendly shopkeepers, awesome like things to look at. Yeah, great vibes.”
Given her positive takeaway, Qin called Clarkson’s tweet “extremely harsh,” noting that it was “definitely not my experience” or that of her friends.
The Grammy-winning former “American Idol” contestant has lived in New York City with her two children since 2023, when she relocated to give her kids a “fresh start” after divorcing husband Brandon Blackstock. In February, she announced she would wrap her long-running “The Kelly Clarkson Show” with the seventh season at the end of this year, prioritizing her kids in the wake of Blackstock’s death last year.
Art of Play’s owners thanked supporters and welcomed “all the curious folks who have discovered us amidst the drama,” in their statement.
“We’re going to keep our heads down and hopefully, we can clear things up with Kelly someday,” they said, finishing with a quote from the singer’s own “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You).”
“As a talented popular singer once said, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”