A Brooklyn shop owner says the dispute with singer Kelly Clarkson has brought safety concerns for his business, while the mechanical bird at the center of their disagreement now carries a displayed price of $15 million.
Adam Rubin, co-owner of Art of Play, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that people connected to the shop had faced threats and doxing amid online backlash. Those claims were not independently verified in the supplied report. Rubin said the attention had made him worry about the store’s safety.
A sign photographed at the shop listed Molly, a mechanical singing bird, for $15 million. Rubin described the price as reflecting supply and demand, according to Fox News Digital. The outlet reported the figure is 1,000 times the $15,000 price Clarkson cited. Art of Play has said Molly is attached to the store wall and is not for sale; it says customers could instead buy a similar automaton from its creator.
The disagreement began after Clarkson posted that an employee made her feel as though she could not afford the merchandise and said she had been directed toward a comparable item. She later said she had pointed to a $15,000 price tag for the bird and was told it was available, then accused the employee of being rude and dishonest.
The store has characterized the interaction as a misunderstanding. Its account, as described in the report, is that staff offered Clarkson a similar bird, while Molly remains a fixture in the shop. The supplied report says Fox News Digital sought comment from Clarkson’s representative; it does not include a response.
Rubin also told the outlet that he was recovering from a recent procedure to remove cancer from his face. His medical statement and the allegations about threats are attributed to Rubin and were not independently confirmed in the source material.
