Kelly Clarkson's furious outburst at staff inside Brooklyn store revealed: Sickly owner makes new claims about star as feud spirals

The Brooklyn storeowner at the center of the feud with Kelly Clarkson said the pop diva issued a parting shot on her way out of the shop, screaming at staff and vowing 'never to return' before taking her gripe to the internet.

Adam Rubin, 43, told the Daily Mail Tuesday that he was supposed to be recovering from skin cancer removal surgery – but that he had to race to his Art of Play store in Brooklyn to deal with the fallout triggered by the singer's weekend meltdown. 

It all transpired on Saturday when, Clarkson, took to social media to blast the art and magic store. She said they presumed she 'couldn't afford' the mechanical bird, Molly, that has pride of place behind the cashier. 

The store insists it was never for sale. 

Now, in an interview with the Daily Mail, Rubin is revealing more about their war of words. 

He also lamented the star for putting his store on the map - and making it a target for Clarkson's army of fans.  

'None of us are supposed to be here today, especially me. I got a cancer removed from my face last week. I'm getting the stitches removed tonight.

'But we are afraid for the safety of our shopkeepers.'

Clarkson, 44, flew into a rage on X on Saturday after a staffer at the curiosity shop refused to sell her a mechanical bird ornament named Molly that adorns one of its walls.

The American Idol winner likened her treatment to that of Vivian Ward, the fictional prostitute played by Julia Roberts in 1990 romantic comedy Pretty Woman, who was kicked out of a designer clothing store in Beverly Hills over her risqué attire.

Clarkson wrote: '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 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.' 

A $15,000 price tag has long sat beside Molly on the wall of the store. 

Supporters of Clarkson said seeing such a tag on an item she was then told she could not buy may have been the source of the star's anger.

Art of Play previously said that price tag was for an identical ornament that is not on display. 

On Tuesday, Rubin continued to maintain that Molly was not for sale, despite the price tag, which has been updated in the wake of the scandal to call the mechanical creature 'the world's most famous singing bird automata!'

Art of Play previously insisted they'd have been happy to direct Clarkson to Molly's Seattle-based creator Bliss Kolb if she wished to commission a similar ornament.

Rubin told the Daily Mail on Tuesday that he blames Clarkson for the chaos that has engulfed his business since and said the talk show host knew exactly what she was doing when she put him 'on blast.'  

'Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger,' Rubin said. 'We have gotten threatening phone calls, threatening text messages.

'We've been review-bombed. We're getting harassed on social media.

'People are showing up and screaming outside of the shop. Our neighbors are getting doxed.

‘Somebody posted something in support of us online and they're getting attacked by trolls.

'We had no idea this could happen, but here's the thing: Kelly Clarkson did, and she chose to do it anyway.'

Rubin suggested Clarkson's behavior smacked of entitlement and that she had turned an 'enormous misunderstanding' into a 'reprehensible abuse of power' with her social media flameout.

'When you have the platform, fame, money, and power that she has, you can't just try to squash somebody like a bug and expect everybody to give you a pass,' Rubin added.

The store owner, who also writes children's books, went on to accuse Clarkson of showing a flash of diva-like behavior as she exited his store at the weekend.

He said she 'yelled at the shopkeeper on her way out the door.' 

'As she was leaving, she said, "You know, I'm never coming here again.",' he went on.

Locals have rushed to back Rubin in the wake of the storm, with multiple Brooklyn-ites telling the Daily Mail on Monday that they stood firmly behind him and his business.

One said, who asked not to be named, said: 'I mean, it actually could not have happened to nicer people. I've been coming here for years. I'm friends with the owners. 

'The whole thing is ridiculous, and for a celebrity to weaponize her platform of 8 million people on Instagram, 8 million on Twitter, to a tiny, little, independently owned store, owned and run by magicians.'

Rubin said his staff are 'rattled,' but also bemused that Molly has become the unexpected star of Clarkson's online meltdown.

The bird is usually the centerpiece of magic theatre shows laid on by the store.

He joked that Molly's value has increased one-thousand-fold in the wake of Clarkson's meltdown.   

'She is currently, and probably for the rest of time, the most famous automaton in the world.

'I think what we would do is...maybe if somebody buys her for $15 million, we'll give $15,000 to all the shopkeepers.

'Give Bliss a million dollars. Build a little case. Buy some old antique automaton.

'You can do a lot of you can do a lot with $15m.

'Kelly Clarkson would know.'

Clarkson shot to stardom after winning the first season of American Idol in 2002.

She enjoyed a successful singing career, with hits including Miss Independent and Since U Been Gone.

She launched a successful talk show on NBC in 2019, with The Kelly Clarkson Show ending in August 2026, so she could spend more time with her family. 

Clarkson was married to talent manager Brandon Blackstock between 2013 and 2022. 

Blackstock, who was the father of Clarkson's children, died of skin cancer aged just 48 in August 2025. 

The Daily Mail has contacted a representative of Kelly Clarkson for comment.