Key Takeaways
- Kelly Clarkson accused Brooklyn shop Art of Play of giving her the Pretty Woman treatment and called an employee “rude” and “a liar” after the store declined to sell her its mounted mechanical bird, Molly.
- Art of Play says Clarkson’s posts unleashed hateful messages, angry calls, death threats, and doxxing, while security footage showed her entire visit lasted four minutes and 50 seconds.
- A tongue-in-cheek Change.org petition now urges NBC to remove Clarkson from The Voice, though the network has not commented, and she remains a coach alongside Adam Levine, Queen Latifah, and Riley Green.
Birdgate has landed at NBC’s door, and fans are now questioning Kelly Clarkson’s position on The Voice.
A Change.org petition launched October 15 calls on the network to remove the former American Idol winner from The Voice’s upcoming live shows and bar a future return.
The campaign points to Clarkson’s viral clash with Brooklyn curio shop Art of Play, where a five-minute visit and one very expensive mechanical bird triggered days of accusations, surveillance-tape breakdowns and reported death threats.
The petition argues that Clarkson turned a minor disagreement into a major problem by broadcasting it to millions of followers. “The Voice is built around mentorship, professionalism, and respect,” the campaign states. “Kelly Clarkson’s conduct in this controversy is inconsistent with those values.”
NBC has not yet commented, but as of this writing, Clarkson remains one of the current coaches alongside Adam Levine, Queen Latifah, and Riley Green.
The campaign also includes some comedy: its description jokes that Molly, the handcrafted singing bird behind the drama, has created “more drama than an entire season of reality television” and deserves a show of her own.
fAIkout AI, the creator of the petition, also set an extremely modest benchmark, promising to declare two signatures “a historic landslide victory for Molly and the entire animatronic bird community.”
Co-owner Adam Rubin said Clarkson fans bombarded the business with hateful messages, angry calls, and death threats after the singer identified the shop online.
“We are legitimately worried about the safety of our shopkeepers,” he said.
Rubin also told USA Today that neighbors were doxxed and that one person entered the store accusing employees of racially profiling Clarkson.
The surge in attention increased sales and foot traffic and inspired Rubin to put Molly—the bird the store originally said was unavailable—on the market for $15 million.
Clarkson set Birdgate in motion after visiting Art of Play on October 10. She said an employee looked at her as though she couldn’t afford Molly and offered to find something “comparable,” giving her what she described as the Pretty Woman treatment.
The store said Molly was permanently mounted to its wall and performed during its magic shows.
According to Art of Play, the nearby $15,000 tag referred to a custom bird available through creator Bliss Kolb. Staff also reportedly offered to show Clarkson a $2,000 German-made alternative.
She later posted a photo of the tag and called the employee “rude” and “a liar.”
Then Pablo Torre brought tape. The journalist released silent security footage showing Clarkson’s entire four-minute-and-50-second visit: browsing, examining a kaleidoscope, speaking with an employee near Molly and gesturing toward a cashier before leaving.
The Pulitzer winner also announced he’d purchased two mechanical birds under glass, which he promptly named Julia and Robert. “We’re going to auction off Julia and Robert,” Torre announced, with the fundraiser supporting glioblastoma research through the Kira Fund.
