From US$15,000 to US$15m: Brooklyn shop hikes price of mechanical bird after Kelly Clarkson spat
NEW YORK, Oct 15 — A mechanical singing bird has become the unlikely star of Kelly Clarkson’s latest controv...
In Kelly Clarkson's recent controversy, a Brooklyn curiosity shop named Art of Play has placed an astonishing US$15 million price tag on a mechanical bird, named Molly, after a public dispute with the singer. The price jump is a thousandfold from the initial US$15,000 valuation, following a heated exchange over Clarkson's treatment during a visit to the store.
The shop's co-owner, Adam Rubin, blamed Clarkson for sparking a wave of online hostility against their small business. Initially, the bird was displayed as a mascot for the shop's magic shows and was not meant for sale. However, a Seattle-based artist, Bliss Kolb, offered to sell a nearly identical automaton for the reduced price of US$15,000.
While Art of Play admitted that their employees tried to clarify the difference between Molly and the alternative bird, they maintain that the shop staff had also offered Clarkson a different automaton priced around US$2,000. Security footage of Clarkson's visit, released by journalist Pablo Torre, shows the singer browsing the store and interacting with staff, but no audio is present, leaving the exact details of the encounter unclear.
Despite the publicity, Rubin declined to comment on whether the incident increased sales, stating that the matter had been said enough.
Written by urgent.news from Malay Mail's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
