Security Camera Footage Of The Kelly Clarkson NYC Store Drama Has Leaked As Co-Owner Speaks Out

There’s been a major update in one of the biggest pop culture stories of the year , Kelly Clarkson ’s unsuccessful attempt to buy a $15,000 animatronic singing bird named Molly from a Brooklyn games and puzzles store: the security camera footage from the incident has leaked online.

ICYMI, the American Idol winner started beefing with the New York store Art of Play on social media over the weekend when she claimed she was treated like Julia Roberts ’ character in Pretty Woman and “looked at as if [she] couldn’t afford” to buy anything.

She and the store exchanged a series of public statements online, and on Wednesday the podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out aired the security camera footage of Clarkson’s visit to the store.

The video doesn’t have any audio, but timestamps show that her visit lasted just four minutes and 50 seconds. During this time, Clarkson entered the store wearing a yellow T-shirt, baggy jeans, a cap and a backpack and looked at several items on the shelves.

She then spoke to a store employee and pointed at the animatronic bird on the wall, but he appeared to get distracted by another customer. Clarkson walked out of the store shortly after this, but not before she gestured angrily while speaking to a different store employee from the door.

The Breakaway hitmaker posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) just 15 minutes after leaving the store, changing pop culture history as we know it.

Kelly Clarkson in the bottom left speaking to a staff member before walking out the door. (Credit: Pablo Torre Finds Out) Art of Play co-owner speaks out about Kelly Clarkson

The footage has received a mixed response on social media, with some people — including the hosts of the podcast — arguing that Clarkson has overreacted about the incident.

Meanwhile, Art of Play co-owner Adam Rubin has been doing the media rounds and told USA Today that the online backlash has made them “afraid for the security of [their] shopkeepers”.

“Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger,” he said. “Not just people showing up in person, but our neighbours are being doxxed and review-bombed, people are getting threatened on the street, and the worst part is: we didn’t know this was gonna happen, but Kelly Clarkson did.”

He went on to invite Clarkson to attend the store again, attend one of their magic shows and give them another try because “this is an insane misunderstanding”.

“If it is this intense to be merely mentioned by Kelly Clarkson, I can only imagine how intense it is to be Kelly Clarkson every single day, but things changed when she used her platform to attack us,” he continued. “It’s asymmetrical social warfare.”

Interestingly, Art of Play has reportedly upped the price on Molly the animatronic singing bird, with shoppers reporting that it’s now available to purchase for $15 million.

Stay tuned for more updates on what has to be one of the wildest celebrity news stories of the year.