The Brooklyn retail store Kelly Clarkson put on blast for giving her the “Pretty Woman” treatment has responded to her claims, saying Clarkson wanted to buy something that wasn’t for sale.

“Yesterday, Kelly Clarkson visited us in Brooklyn and inquired about buying ‘Molly,’ a one-of-a-kind singing and dancing bird automaton who plays an important role in the magic shows we host here,” the store, Art of Play, wrote Sunday on its Instagram. “Molly is permanently attached to the wall and isn’t for sale. However, the negative experience Kelly described on twitter would resonate with anyone who has ever felt judged in a shop.”

The response comes one day after Clarkson took to X to complain about the service she received at the store. She wrote that she “drove all the way to Brooklyn” to visit Art of Play, but once she got there, the employees looked at her like she “couldn’t afford” the piece and told her they could “find something comparable” for her.

“Wow, dude. You’re an idiot and just lost a huge sale,” Clarkson wrote on X. “But y’all should go check out Art of Play in Brooklyn if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman. For sure, check it out,” adding a thumbs-down emoji. Clarkson’s post has more than 32 million views and more than 10,000 reposts as of press time.

After Clarkson’s post, many people left bad reviews on Art of Play’s Yelp page, writing things like, “Why would I go to a store to spend my hard-earned money just to get treated like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman?” and “Rude!!!!”

The store said in its Instagram post that everyone is “equally welcome,” and that they were taken aback by Clarkson’s post.

“Imagine our surprise when our small local business was suddenly attacked by 8 million people who have never visited our store,” Art of Play wrote. “It’s been a surreal experience to be the focus of such widespread outrage after just one mention by a celebrity.”

The shop ended its post thanking friends for their support and quoting Clarkson’s song “Stronger,” writing, “As a talented popular singer once said ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’”

The back-and-forth continued on Sunday evening when Clarkson responded to Art of Play’s statement, saying there was a price tag next to the singing bird and that an employee told her “in a condescending tone ‘yes, it’s for sale but it costs 15,000 dollars so if you’d like me to find something comparable for you I can.’”

She continued, calling the business not only “rude” but also a “liar.” She said she “obviously” supports small businesses because she was trying to shop from one, but that just because they’re a small business, they don’t get a pass “to treat people less than.”

“I never blast people but you my friend were an exception,” Clarkson wrote Sunday night on X. “Your store is really cool. Unfortunately, you aren’t.”

Art of Play responded to Clarkson’s post, saying that they explained to Clarkson that Molly, the singing bird, was “permanently attached to the wall” and was the “de facto” mascot of the store, but there was an identical one in Seattle that the artist who made the bird would sell for $15,000. They said they also offered her a similar singing bird for $2,000 that “she could have taken home with her that day.”

“She did not stick around long enough to see it,” Art of Play wrote Sunday on Instagram.

The shop continued: “We’ve reached out to Kelly directly to try and clear the air. We really do wish her the best and hope that someday we can all laugh about this misunderstanding.”

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