Brooklyn Shop Co-Owner Says It’s ‘So Hard To Forgive’ Kelly Clarkson After Bird Drama: ‘This Is Not How You Can Behave As A Citizen In The World’
Art of Play is not playing around when it comes to the fallout they’ve faced after Kelly Clarkson named and shamed ’em online to her millions of fans.
Adam Rubin, one of the co-owners of the Brooklyn curiosity shop, has been speaking to the press this week. Standing up for his shop and its employees, he adamantly defends the shopkeeper who interacted with the singer, telling Page Six “nothing happened in the shop that was so dramatic that it’s worth throwing a Molotov cocktail into a mom-and pop-business.”
He may be speaking metaphorically about the cocktail, but he says the store and their neighbors have since endured harassment, doxing, and more.
After Kelly told X (Twitter) followers that she left their shop feeling like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman (in which saleswomen on Rodeo Drive condescend to Julia’s character as if she’s trash and can’t afford their goods), fans have allegedly been review-bombing Art of Play online, calling their phone non-stop, harassing them with hate speech and threats of violence, etc.
Adam previously told reporters:
“Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger. People are getting threatened on the street, and the worst part is we didn’t know this was going to happen but Kelly Clarkson did.”
He also told one journalist:
“We hold no ill will against Kelly Clarkson. We invite her to come back and enjoy the store. But, we find her gross abuse of power completely reprehensible, and she should face social consequences.”
And now in an interview with Page Six, he’s elaborating more, telling the outlet:
“She asked about the bird. It’s on the wall, and attached permanently. It was explained to her that it’s a complicated situation to get these things made. They take years. There’s one guy that makes them, and if we have seriously interested buyers, then we talk to the artist and try to work something out.”
Comparing it to a furniture store’s floor couch for display, he added:
“You don’t expect to take it out the door with you when you leave, do you? But there’s a price tag on it. So then you have a conversation with the person that works at the store about how can I get something like that in my house?”
Acknowledging she felt taken aback by how it all went down, he said:
“That conversation did not go the way that she wanted it to go, and she felt disrespected.”
And while he has said he can understand and sympathize with her on that, he wishes it could have been handled differently.
Related: Video Of Kelly’s Interaction With Shopkeeper
Maybe an email to the owners about her experience? But definitely not naming them online with the kind of platform she has. He’s really struggling to understand that part, saying:
“It’s so hard to forgive her actions after she walked out the door. She knew what was going to happen. She knew that the entire pressure of her millions and millions of fans around the world were going to come to the service of their queen and weaponize themselves and debase themselves on behalf of a millionaire they have never met.”
He continued:
“Nobody else in the store would have perceived that anything negative had happened until she told off the shopkeeper as she walked out the door. And that was the only time that we realized somebody was unhappy. And then, 15 minutes later, the entire weight of the internet came crashing down upon us, and we were caught completely unprepared. We started getting flooded with hateful phone calls and threats and text messages. They are doxing our neighbors. Like, this is crazy.”
He considers the responsibility he believes comes with celebrity, noting:
“This is not how you can behave as a citizen in the world, like, if you are this famous and powerful and you try to squash someone like a bug, then we’re supposed to blame the trolls for all the damage that’s inflicted. She lit the fuse.”
Kelly has not publicly responded to his remarks, but she did return to the stage Wednesday night.
PerezHilton.com obtained video of her performance at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where she sang hits like Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) and Since U Been Gone.
Check those out below:
For more of Adam’s interview with Page Six, click HERE.
Thoughts? Drop ’em all in the comments! But remember, no matter whose side you’re on, be cool. If you want to support Kelly, streaming her music more is a positive way to show your support. If you like the shop, consider leaving them a good review if you’ve been there and can attest to it.
[Image via YouTube/NBC.]
