Kelly Clarkson’s public complaint about a Brooklyn toy and magic shop has dragged on for days, and the hosts of The View are still not taking her side. After watching security footage of the singer’s brief visit to Art of Play, co-host Sunny Hostin described Kelly Clarkson’s reaction as “a bit of a tantrum,” according to TheWrap.
The dispute began when Kelly Clarkson posted on X that a worker at the store was “an idiot” who “just lost a huge sale.” She said she was treated like Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman, claiming staff acted as if she could not afford a singing bird automaton and offered to find her something “comparable” instead. She also called the staff rude while praising the store itself.
Art of Play says the bird, which it calls Molly, is a one-of-a-kind automaton from its magic shows that is fixed to the wall and not for sale. The shop later offered a nearly identical $15,000 automaton owned by its creator. However, Clarkson has since accused the staff of lying, sharing a photo of the bird with a “Singing Bird” price tag.
Sunny Hostin thinks Kelly Clarkson should have handled the Art of Play visit privately
Security footage obtained by journalist Pablo Torre shows Kelly Clarkson browsing with her children before stopping at the automaton bird and chatting briefly with an employee. The clip does not capture what was said, as it has no audio. The footage adds a new layer to the singer’s original claims that a Brooklyn shop judged whether she could pay, which the store answered by quoting her own song.
After stepping away from the employee, Kelly Clarkson can be seen putting several items she had been holding back on the shelves before leaving. Hostin zeroed in on that moment, saying it looked like a tantrum because Clarkson started putting things back quickly. She also noted that Clarkson was not in the store for long. The singer posted only minutes after walking out, according to the outlet’s description of the footage.
Hostin was careful with her words, saying she did not want to misquote the singer’s original post. Guest host Raven-Symoné then finished the thought. “She was petty,” Raven-Symoné said. Hostin agreed, adding that Clarkson “was a little petty.” The pair stopped short of saying the singer had no reason to be upset, as both said Clarkson is entitled to feel upset about her experience.
Still, the hosts stressed that a celebrity with Kelly Clarkson’s following should be more careful about airing complaints online, as her audience gives any post an enormous reach. Earlier in the week, Hostin had already described the whole saga as “a champagne problem” that the singer should have dealt with privately rather than in a public post.
The footage has done little to settle the argument online. Torre framed it as a test of whether the singer’s so-called “Karen moment” was worth the fallout. One X user claimed it shows no evidence she was disparaged, while another ran it through an AI lip-reading tool and admitted the result was not a perfect match. However, Art of Play continues to insist that the bird was never for sale.
Kelly Clarkson has not publicly responded to the footage or to The View, and any statement from her could reshape a feud that neither the singer nor the shop appears willing to let go of anytime soon.
Published: Oct 17, 2026 05:30 am