Kelly Clarkson says a shopping trip in New York City turned into a scene straight out of Hollywood. The Grammy-winning singer took to X on Saturday, October 10, 2026, to call out Art of Play, a Brooklyn shop that specializes in puzzles, games and toys, claiming an employee made assumptions about how much money she was able to spend.
According to Clarkson, she made a special effort to visit the store because it appeared interesting and carried multiple items she hoped to purchase. The outing soured, however, when an employee, in her account, gave her the impression that she could not afford what was on the shelves and suggested finding her something similar instead.
Clarkson, who is not known for staying quiet, made clear she was unimpressed. She told the employee that the business had just missed out on a substantial sale.
The singer then drew a comparison to the well-known boutique sequence in the 1990 film "Pretty Woman," in which Julia Roberts' character, Vivian, is dismissed by saleswomen at an upscale Beverly Hills store who doubt she can pay for their clothing. In the movie, Vivian eventually comes back after spending heavily at another retailer and delivers one of its most quoted lines: "Big mistake. Big. Huge." Clarkson, according to her post, sarcastically encouraged people to visit the store if they wanted the same experience.
Clarkson did not name the employee or say what she had intended to buy. The singer relocated to New York City in 2023, and her financial standing makes the alleged treatment at the shop all the more surprising.
As of Saturday, Art of Play had not publicly responded to the situation.
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Ava Hart
Ava Hart is a pop culture junkie and loves to share what's happening in Hollywood and what trends are taking the world by storm.
