Kelly Clarkson ignited a social media controversy over the weekend after blasting a small Brooklyn shop online, accusing its staff of looking down on her when she tried to purchase an item. The store later offered a different account of the encounter, prompting the singer to double down on her accusations.

Clarkson initially described her visit to Art of Play as an unpleasant experience, claiming she had traveled to the store with plans to make a purchase but was treated as though she could not afford what she wanted.

“Wow, dude. You’re an idiot and just lost a huge sale,” Clarkson wrote in a post Saturday, urging her followers to visit the store while comparing the experience to Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman.

Her public criticism quickly drew pushback, including from Fox News host Greg Gutfeld, who suggested Clarkson had interpreted the interaction as an insult because she did not get the response she expected.

“She wanted to buy something that wasn’t for sale,” Gutfeld wrote on X, arguing that Clarkson had turned the encounter into a story of victimhood.

Another social media user accused the singer of bullying a small business by using her platform to publicly shame its employees.

Art of Play subsequently addressed the controversy in an Instagram statement, explaining that Clarkson had asked about a mechanical bird puppet named Molly that serves as a mascot for the shop.

According to the store, Molly was permanently attached to the wall, but the artist who created the machines owned a nearly identical automaton that he was willing to sell for $15,000. The shop said it explained the arrangement to Clarkson and offered to show her another singing-bird automaton, made by a traditional German clockmaking shop, that cost approximately $2,000 and was available to take home immediately.

The store said Clarkson left before seeing the alternative item and that it had contacted her directly in hopes of resolving the disagreement.

Clarkson rejected the shop’s explanation, accusing its staff of changing their story after the backlash began.

She claimed she had pointed to a price tag bearing the title “Singing Bird” and asked whether the item was for sale. According to Clarkson, an employee confirmed that it was available but emphasized its $15,000 price before offering to find something comparable.

“Okay, cool. So you’re not only rude, you’re also a liar. Got it,” Clarkson wrote in a follow-up post.

The singer also defended her decision to criticize the business publicly, arguing that supporting small businesses does not mean excusing what she considers disrespectful treatment.

“I obviously support small businesses because I was literally at a small business trying to purchase things,” she wrote, adding that being a small business does not provide a “free pass to treat people less than.”

Clarkson concluded that the shop itself was interesting but took issue with the people running it.

The competing accounts leave the central disagreement unresolved, with Clarkson alleging she was spoken to condescendingly and the store maintaining that it explained the item's unusual ownership and offered her an alternative.