Kelly Clarkson has been making headlines as of late and not because of her singing career or her role as a judge on The Voice. Earlier this month, Clarkson publicly criticized Brooklyn-based novelty store Art of Play after management allegedly denied her the opportunity to purchase a mechanical, singing bird. The owner – children’s author Adam Rubin – has since disputed Clarkson’s account of events. Rubin’s shop has received backlash online and, while locals are defending the store, they’re being impacted as well.
Apparently, some of Art of Play’s neighbors are receiving blowback for openly speaking out in support of the store amid the situation with Clarkson. One of the people to speak out in favor of the establishment is Brad Thomas Parsons, who reportedly talked up the store in a post shared to his Instagram story this past weekend. According to The New York Times, Parsons was swiftly met with criticism due to his remarks and, when he spoke to the news outlet, he shared some of the negative comments he’d been faced with:
First I was being bullied for having red hair, then for being husky. Then it was ‘pedophile,’ ‘wannabe celebrity’ and ‘blue collar,’ as if that was an insult.
Parsons apparently wasn’t all that fazed by the first round of critiques to come his way. However, that apparently changed when someone shared a photo of his cat, Enzo, and shared their hope that the feline would succumb to cancer. Parsons added:
That was the last straw. It left a sour taste in my mouth.
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Clarkson’s beef with Art of Play specifically revolves around the bird automaton Molly, which she reportedly wanted to purchase. The Grammy winner alleged that she was treated disrespectfully when she visited the store and subsequently released video footage also showed Clarkson looking unhappy while talking to staff. Rubin later spoke out and claimed Clarkson was told Molly was not for sale due to the bird being used for events at the store. Yet Clarkson later claimed that account was false and shared a photo of Molly with a $15,000 price tag attached.
Insiders have since dropped claims regarding how the “Where Have You Been” singer is feeling in the midst of the conflict. Per those sources, Clarkson is in a “bubble of applause,” due to having received support from her fans as well as some fellow celebrities. It’s also been alleged, however, that some in Clarkson’s camp are surprised by just how much this situation has escalated.
On the other side of the issue, Rubin and co. aren’t reportedly just dealing with online blowback. It’s been reported that they’ve also been trying to contact Clarkson to have a dialogue and have purportedly attempted to do so through “multiple channels.” However, those efforts have supposedly been unsuccessful as “the hatred continues” across social media.
As of this writing, neither Kelly Clarkson nor Adam Rubin have participated in any formal interviews to lay out their respective sides of the story. There’s currently no clear answer in regards to how this situation might be resolved. In the meantime, though, we can only wait and see how all parties involved – including the neighbors caught up in the middle – will continue to navigate this.
