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Kelly Clarkson vs. Art of Play

Pop culture · Heat 3.7 / 10 · 11 shows · 2h 28m airtime

On October 11, 2026, Kelly Clarkson posted that The Art of Play in Brooklyn treated her rudely while she asked about a mechanical bird, and accused staff of giving her the Pretty Woman treatment after they offered a cheaper alternative. The store says the bird, Molly, is mounted and not for sale, and that a nearly identical automaton named Dolly was available for $15,000. A commenter says he saw a price tag on Molly in August, and a reporter says the owner was asked three times whether the bird had a price, never answered, then kicked him out. Co-owner Adam Rubin declined to comment to one show but later said he is open to a magic show to settle the…

How 11 podcasts covered it

  1. The TMZ Podcast, 2026-10-12 (10:48 to 15:50)
    Retells the exchange as a Pretty Woman moment
    Retells the Clarkson-Art of Play exchange from the tweet through the store's Molly rebuttal and Clarkson's detailed reply, framing it as a Pretty Woman moment. The hosts side with Clarkson on character grounds; no new development.
  2. No Filter With Zack Peter, 2026-10-12 (31:33 to 38:06)
    Recaps the feud and sides with Clarkson
    Recaps the Clarkson-Art of Play feud from the start: the condescending employee, the store's statement that Molly is attached to the wall, and Clarkson's Instagram reply with the $15,000 price tag. Sides with Clarkson and stays inside the week's coverage.
  3. Chicks in the Office, 2026-10-12 (41:04 to 59:19)
    Walks through the price tag exchange
    Walks through the full exchange: Clarkson's tweet, the store's two statements, the $15,000 price tag screenshot and a commenter who says he saw the tag in August. The hosts side with Clarkson and read the store's clarification as contradictory.
    New angle: A commenter, Joey Camasa, says he saw a price tag on Molly in August.
  4. Pop Culture Crisis, 2026-10-12 (10:01 to 25:05)
    Recaps the tweet, the responses and the clap-back
    Recaps the Clarkson-Art of Play spat from the tweet through the store's two responses and Clarkson's clap-back, with a Demi Lovato froyo detour and a long argument about celebrity entitlement and optics. Stays inside what the store and Clarkson already posted.
  5. Juicy Scoop with Heather McDonald, 2026-10-13 (35:47 to 40:40)
    Retells the feud and speculates about the clerk
    Retells the Art of Play feud from the top - the visit, the tweet, the store's not-for-sale reply, the $15,000 price tag photo - and adds only speculation about a Gen Z clerk who did not recognize Clarkson. Stays inside the week's coverage.
  6. No Filter With Zack Peter, 2026-10-13 (44:39 to 51:25)
    Adds the store's claim it reached Clarkson
    Recaps the Clarkson bird fight and the store's shifting explanations, then adds the store's claim that it reached out to Clarkson directly and that the identical bird is named Dolly. Mostly reaction and PR advice.
    New angle: The store says it reached out to Kelly Clarkson directly and that the identical bird is named Dolly.
  7. Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino, 2026-10-14 (40:36 to 41:57)
    Recaps the animatronic bird detour
    A short detour into the bird story between Potomac segments: Clarkson tried to buy the $15,000 animatronic bird, says the store treated her like Pretty Woman and told her to leave, and has been posting about it. A recap with no new development.
  8. Pablo Torre Finds Out, 2026-10-14 (6:37 to 16:24)
    Sets up the feud and the $15,000 bird
    Sets up the Clarkson-Art of Play feud: the Saturday post, the store's reply that Molly the mechanical bird was not for sale, the $15,000 twin and the $2,000 German alternative. Notes both hosts have shopped at the store and have talked with co-owner Adam Rubin, who declined to comment.
    New angle: Art of Play co-owner Adam Rubin declined to comment to the show.
  9. Pablo Torre Finds Out, 2026-10-14 (20:36 to 39:23)
    Airs security footage of the four-minute visit
    Airs exclusive security footage of Clarkson's October 10 visit: she enters at 2:49 p.m., spends under five minutes in the store, points at Molly, and leaves at 2:54, with her tweet going out at 3:09. The tape shows no audio and no visible price tag exchange, undercutting her account of the shopkeeper's pitch.
    New angle: Store security footage shows Clarkson inside Art of Play for 4 minutes 50 seconds, entering at 2:49 p.m. and leaving at 2:54.
  10. Pablo Torre Finds Out, 2026-10-14 (39:23 to 47:37)
    Reports the doxing of a neighboring art school
    Turns to the fallout: the flood of calls and threats after Clarkson's 3:09 p.m. post, the doxing of the neighboring kids' art school, and an influencer's doorstep video that drew about 400,000 Instagram views. Frames it as a celebrity mobilizing 8.8 million followers against a small shop.
    New angle: The store's neighbor, a kids' art school, was doxed after Clarkson's post.
  11. Pablo Torre Finds Out, 2026-10-14 (47:37 to 53:13)
    Adds the automaton auction for the Kira Fund
    Turns the $2,000 German automaton into a prop and a stunt: the show buys one and announces it will auction it off for the Kira Fund, named for David Sampson's daughter who died of glioblastoma in June. A new development hung on the store's offer, not a retelling of the visit.
    New angle: The show will auction the $2,000 German automaton to benefit the Kira Fund.
  12. The Dan Le Batard Show, 2026-10-14 (33:10 to 39:27)
    Plays the bird-store footage and debate
    Plays out Torre's surveillance footage of the Clarkson bird-store exchange and the owner's on-camera statement, then debates whether the store's shaming is merited. The new material is the footage timeline and the owner's refusal to say whether the bird had a price.
    New angle: The store owner was asked three times whether the bird had a price and never answered, then kicked the reporter out.
  13. The TMZ Podcast, 2026-10-14 (1:52 to 8:45)
    Plays the owner's offer of a magic show
    Plays the surveillance video and the owner's on-camera interview. Adam Rubin says the store is fielding threats, phone calls and texts, that the kids' art school next door is being doxed, and that he would host Clarkson at a magic show to settle the beef.
    New angle: Adam Rubin says he is open to having Clarkson come to a magic show to settle the beef.
  14. No Filter With Zack Peter, 2026-10-14 (24:24 to 25:49)
    Reports the $15 million listing for Molly
    Reports the store's $15 million listing for Molly and treats it as another self-inflicted jab at Clarkson, then pivots to asking whether the silent footage changed anyone's mind. Reaction to a fact already on the record.
  15. The TMZ Podcast, 2026-10-15 (10:41 to 13:28)
    Recaps Clarkson's first show since the controversy
    Recaps the Clarkson saga's latest beats: her first performance since the controversy, at a corporate event at Allegiant Stadium, where she said nothing about the bird, and Art of Play's $15 million listing for Molly. Stays inside the story already on the record.
  16. Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, 2026-10-16 (5:13 to 10:33)
    Recaps the Clarkson dispute and the magic shop
    Recaps the Clarkson and Art of Play dispute from the top - the drive in from Manhattan, the $15,000 Molly, the $2,000 German alternative - and adds color on the shop itself: a 22-seat magic theater run by twin brother magicians. Stays inside the story already on the record.
  17. The Bonfire with Big Jay Oakerson and Robert Kelly, 2026-10-22 (23:20 to 33:02)
    Relays secondhand intel that the bird was never for sale
    Turns the Brooklyn magic-shop story into a riff, with one host relaying secondhand intel that the $15,000 bird was never for sale and the owners are snobby, and the other defending Clarkson. Mostly jokes about her voice and the store.
    New angle: A source who grew up with the owners says the $15,000 bird was never actually for sale.
  18. The Bonfire with Big Jay Oakerson and Robert Kelly, 2026-10-22 (36:14 to 50:16)
    Reads the co-owner's statement to Page Six
    Reads Art of Play co-owner Adam Rubin's statement to Page Six: the bird is permanently mounted, made by one artist and takes years, and he compares it to a showroom couch. The hosts then argue over whether a price tag on a non-sale item is fair.
    New angle: Art of Play co-owner Adam Rubin told Page Six the bird is permanently mounted and special ordered from one artist.
  19. Daily Comedy News with Johnny Mac, 2026-10-28 (4:34 to 5:37)
    Recounts the visit and plays the comic's take
    Recounts Clarkson's visit to Art of Play, the $15,000 animatronic bird the shop said wasn't for sale, and the cheaper alternative an employee offered, then plays Josh Johnson's stage take calling the staff rude.
    New angle: Clarkson accused Art of Play of giving her the Pretty Woman treatment after staff offered her a cheaper alternative.
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