Updated

Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Oct 14

Pablo Torre Releases 4-Minute Security Video of Kelly Clarkson's Art of Play Visit

Updated

Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Oct 14

Pablo Torre Releases 4-Minute Security Video of Kelly Clarkson's Art of Play Visit

Q: Where did Kelly Clarkson get a photo of a $15,000 price tag if the Brooklyn store insists the mechanical bird was never for sale?

The most plausible answer is that Clarkson did not take that $15,000 price-tag photo during her visit. Reporting cited in the follow-up coverage says the image she reposted appears to have come from an older Google review, uploaded by another person, not from Clarkson herself. That helps explain the apparent contradiction. Art of Play has insisted that “Molly,” the wall-mounted bird in the store, was never for sale. The store’s later clarification was that the $15,000 figure referred not to Molly itself, but to a nearly identical “twin” bird by artist Bliss Kolb that the artist was reportedly willing to sell. In other words, the label may have described a Bliss Kolb singing-bird automaton and its price, without meaning the store’s installed display piece was available to take home. Additional reporting also noted there was, or had been, a label beside Molly reading “Singing Bird Automaton by Bliss Kolb” with a $15,000 price, which could easily have created confusion for a shopper. Some accounts suggest the tag may have been removed later, or that it functioned more as a reference price for a similar commissioned piece than a retail tag for Molly itself. So the likely answer is: Clarkson’s photo seems to have been sourced from a prior online image, and the $15,000 tag itself likely referred to a similar or twin Bliss Kolb bird, not the specific wall-mounted Molly that Art of Play says was not for sale.

3 articles · Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Oct 14

Four minutes and 50 seconds of silent security footage aired Tuesday night, showing Kelly Clarkson browsing near the entrance, briefly asking about the wall-mounted automaton bird "Molly," and then moving away.
The video appears to capture a staffer trying to redirect her to another item on an adjacent wall before assisting another customer, a sequence Torre suggested undercuts Clarkson's account of the exchange.
Clarkson posted about 15 minutes after leaving that she felt judged and was told a comparable item could be found for her, comparing the experience to Pretty Woman and saying the store lost a huge sale.
Art of Play said Molly is a permanent fixture used in its magic shows and not for sale, while the alternative item at the center of the dispute was a $2,000 automaton bird that Torre later bought and said he would auction.