The Brooklyn, New York, boutique caught in Kelly Clarkson’s crossfire is subtly doubling down against her mistreatment accusations.
“For what it’s worth, I think @artofplay is a great store,” another customer wrote via Instagram Stories, which the home goods shop reposted to its own page on Sunday, October 11.
Clarkson, 44, claimed several hours earlier that she recently had a Pretty Woman-esque encounter with an Art of Play sales clerk.
“Just drove all the way to Brooklyn to check out this store I thought looked really rad,” the singer tweeted on Saturday, October 10. “[I] 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.”
She concluded, “But y’all should go check out Art of Play in Brooklyn if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman.”
In 1990’s Pretty Woman, Roberts, now 58, plays an escort named Vivian Ward who was hired by a wealthy businessman (Richard Gere) for a week. Hoping to purchase appropriate clothes to attend her client’s work functions, Vivian walks into a ritzy Beverly Hills shop when the salesperson immediately asks her to leave under the assumption that Vivian can’t afford the high-priced merchandise.
After finding success at a different store, Vivian now-famously waltzes into the first boutique to condemn their mistreatment.
“Hi, do you remember me? I was in here yesterday [and] you wouldn’t wait on me,” she retorts in the film. “You work on commission, right? Big mistake. Big. Huge. I have to go shopping now!”
The Brooklyn shop at the center of controversy over how its staff allegedly mistreated Kelly Clarkson has seemingly offered a thinly-veiled response. Hours after Clarkson, 44, tweeted about allegedly having a Pretty Woman-style experience of being shamed over a potential purchase, Art of Play shared a message via its Instagram Story from another customer who […]
Art of Play staffers, who did not publicly address Clarkson’s complaints after Us reached out for comment, subtly clapped back within hours. Later on Saturday, the store’s official Instagram account reposted several positive reviews about their shop and the employees’ behavior.
“From the very first time I walked into @artofplay, I felt welcomed and treated with such genuine kindness,” one review read. “I love discovering unique treasures and connecting with the wonderful people there. [Art of Play is] a place that leaves you smiling and wanting to come back. I’m already counting down the days until I return in two weeks.”
Clarkson, who has not further addressed the alleged incident, moved to New York City in 2023 with her two children: River Rose, 12, and Remington, 10. (Clarkson shared her kids with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, who died in 2025 after a private battle with cancer.)
“It’s a beautiful city to raise kiddos in because I wasn’t really exposed to different cultures,” Clarkson said on the “La Culturistas” podcast in September of her family’s move. “I wasn’t really exposed to anything like that. Like, I love where I grew up … but I just meant It’s a cool thing for them to have just every color of the rainbow, every color of personality, everything.”
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