Kelly Clarkson slammed a high-end Brooklyn novelty shop for giving her the so-called “Pretty Woman” treatment during a recent visit, but the store clapped back with a review from a purported customer praising the staff’s kindness.
The positive online post was soon deleted, and, for Clarkson, it came too late anyway.
The “American Idol” winner and “The Voice” judge claimed she was disrespected by an employee at Art of Play on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn Heights as she shopped there.
“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
When reached, Art of Play’s owner described his store as a “curiosity shop” and told the Daily News he had no immediate comment to Clarkson’s scathing review.
The store will be releasing a statement at some point, the owner said.
After Clarkson made her claims, Art of Play posted a purported 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, which was captured by Us magazine before disappearing. “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.”
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 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 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.
Clarkson didn’t say what she was planning to buy or give any further details on the conversation she had with store employees.
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.