This dispute began when the singer publicly named and accused this restaurant on X on Sunday, claiming that she had experienced treatment akin to that described in the song "Fengyue Qiaojianren" (A Charming Beauty of the Amorous World) while inside the restaurant.
In response, Art, of, and Play raised objections to what Clarkson said, claiming that she attempted to purchase a product that was not for sale. After this was explained to them, they immediately left the shop.
“I just drove all the way to Brooklyn to check out this store that I thought was really cool. I wanted to buy a few things, but I was treated as if I couldn’t afford them at all, and they even told me they could find me something similar instead. Wow, man. You’re such a fool; I just lost…“ – Kelly Clarkson (@kellyclarkson), October 10, 2026
In the following days, both sides held their own versions of the story, and global media also engaged in heated discussions about a mechanical bird worth $15,000 (or perhaps even priceless).
Business Insider indicates that although the authenticity of this video has not been independently verified, some of the key details match what reporter Ben Shimkus observed during their visit to the store on Tuesday.
Shimkus took photos inside the store during their visit and had a conversation with the staff. There are at least two visible products in the surveillance video that match the items displayed in his video. The man behind the counter in the video also seems to be one of the staff members interviewed by Shimkus.
You can watch this video here:
Although there is no sound on this CCTV footage, it does at least indicate a few things.
First of all, Clarkson stayed in the store for a very short time, less than five minutes. At the beginning of the video, she was browsing around the store and picking up a few items to look at.
Subsequently, she stopped, most likely near that bird, and seemed to be talking with a clerk. The exchange between them was very brief. Clarkson appeared to be pointing at something on the wall, and the clerk made a gesture in the same direction as well. Due to the camera angle being partially obstructed, it was difficult to see exactly what they were referring to. While talking with her, the clerk leaned against a surface and was holding a cup of coffee in her hand. Afterwards, Clarkson quickly walked away to continue looking at other products.
The clerk lingered near the display area for a while longer. Afterwards, he looked in the direction of Clarkson while making gestures towards another part of the store. However, Clarkson was facing away from him at that time, looking at another set of displays, and did not show any obvious reaction. Subsequently, the clerk seemed to turn his attention towards another customer.
The monitoring footage seems to show the most intense scene here. Clarkson stops near the counter and engages in conversation with another employee.
Her gestures were more animated than those she made when communicating near that bird before. Several customers standing nearby seemed to look her way before she left.
In an interview with Curbed, the shop owner also seemed to confirm that there were tense moments at the time. He said, "Nothing happened in the shop, which is enough to prove that she scolded our employees when she left."
Subsequently, the video shows Clarkson leaving the store and taking out her phone. The timestamp from Torre's video indicates that she initially posted about this experience about 15 minutes later.
Although this video gives us a general understanding of what happened between Clarkson and the clerk at Art, of, and Play, it does not reveal what was actually said by either party. Since there is no sound on the surveillance footage, we are unable to accurately determine the tone, wording, or context of the conversation.
Unless we obtain footage with audio, or have more testimonies from eyewitnesses, we may never truly know what exactly happened in that toy store in Brooklyn.
