Body language expert Sean Johns has shared his thoughts on Kelly Clarkson’s leaked security footage as her feud with Brooklyn store, Art of Play, continues to grow.
The footage aired on the October 13 episode of Journalist Pablo Torre’s podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out showed the singer browsing the shop and speaking with an employee about Molly, a mechanical bird linked to a $15,000 price tag.
Highlights
- A body language expert analyzed the security footage showing Kelly Clarkson browsing Brooklyn shop Art of Play.
- The expert said the footage could neither prove nor disprove Clarkson’s claim.
- Co-owner Adam Rubin alleged the backlash brought threats and harassment against the business and its supporters.
Clarkson claimed the employee made her feel as though she couldn’t afford the item, but the store alleged the bird on display wasn’t for sale.
A body language expert spotted telling details in Kelly Clarkson’s footage from Brooklyn store
The security footage runs for about four minutes and 50 seconds, but it has no audio, as reported by Bored Panda.
It showed Clarkson walking around Art of Play, looking through a kaleidoscope, and stopping in front of Molly.
Johns, who founded Bodylytics, a company that provides non-verbal communication training, told Tyla that Clarkson appeared interested in shopping during the first part of the video.
“The face won't tell you when someone has made up their mind, because it's the most rehearsed part of us. The hands will. An undecided shopper picks things up and puts them down. A decided one holds on and carries the item as if it's already theirs,” he explained.
Johns also highlighted the moment Clarkson stopped in front of Molly.
“The signal is the stopping, not the starting. That pause is when help matters most,” he said.
The expert then examined the employee’s posture. “A crossed leg and a lean both say ‘I'm settled, this won't take long,’” Johns said.
He also pointed to the coffee cup the employee held between himself and Clarkson.
“The cup sits between them like a small barrier. On their own, they're harmless. Together, facing a customer asking about a big-ticket item, they read as low engagement,” he explained.
According to Johns, the employee later turned his attention toward another customer. While that could have been routine in a busy store, Johns said Clarkson might have taken it as a sign their conversation had ended.
The footage then showed Clarkson putting back the items she had picked up and heading toward the exit. However, she turned back and appeared to gesture toward the employee before leaving.
“Someone who is finished with a place keeps walking. Turning back at the threshold means something is unresolved,” Johns said.
He added, “That's where her frustration shows on the footage, not during the conversation. Outside, a second camera shows her phone coming out.”
However, Johns did not claim that the recording proved Clarkson’s allegation that the employee looked her up and down.
“That would last well under a second. A ceiling camera at that distance, with faces blurred, can't resolve it. The footage neither proves nor disproves the look,” he said.
Clarkson’s feud also led to comparisons between the singer and Ellen DeGeneres
A source close to Clarkson told the Daily Mail that the whole ordeal had surprised them.
“She was always so nice. It would be weird to me if that was a facade and she's going to turn into another Ellen,” the source said.
Ellen DeGeneres’s talk show faced allegations of a toxic workplace in 2020. Several former employees accused DeGeneres’s show of fostering a harmful work environment. The show ended in 2022 after 19 seasons.
Another insider claimed Clarkson had previously criticized DeGeneres’ behavior.
“She was so critical of Ellen and was like, ‘I don't talk to people like that. Ever.’ And now she's attacking a small business. It's weird to me,” the source said.
Meanwhile, some critics called Clarkson a “Karen”, a term often used to describe someone seen as entitled or rude when dealing with others.
However, many of her fans defended her.
“Calm down, she's one of the most down-to-earth people, but there comes a point of disrespect that can't be overlooked. We all have a breaking point,” one said.
“In the 22 years she's been in the spotlight, how many times have we heard anything bad about her? I'll wait.”
Others felt that Clarkson should have handled the disagreement differently, even if the employee had misjudged her.
“Maybe misjudgment on her part, but she owes that business a public apology,” one person commented.
Kelly Clarkson called out Art of Play for lying about the $15,000 mechanical bird
The disagreement began on October 10, when Clarkson shared her shopping experience on X, as reported by Bored Panda.
“Just drove all the way to Brooklyn to check out this store I thought looked really rad and had a few things in mind to buy and literally was looked at as if I couldn’t afford it and was told he could find something comparable for me,” she wrote.
She then criticized the employee and compared the experience to the famous shopping scene in the 1990 movie Pretty Woman, in which Julia Roberts’ character faces dismissive treatment from boutique staff.
Art of Play disputed Clarkson’s account, saying Molly was permanently attached to the wall and was not for sale.
According to the store, the $15,000 price referred to a similar mechanical bird that could be obtained from its creator, Seattle-based artist Bliss Kolb.
The shop also said an employee could have shown Clarkson another bird priced at around $2,000, but she left before seeing that option.
Clarkson rejected the store’s explanation and shared a photo of the price tag displayed near Molly in another X post from October 11. She said she asked whether the bird was for sale and received a condescending response.
“So you're not only rude, you're also a liar. Got it,” she wrote.
Art of Play co-owner revealed Clarkson’s posts had put his staff and business in danger
Art of Play co-owner, Adam Rubin, said the backlash had become a serious concern for his business and the people connected to it.
“I am afraid for the safety of our shop. Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger,” he told Fox News Digital.
Rubin alleged that the store received threatening phone calls and text messages after Clarkson’s posts went viral.
He also claimed that employees and people supporting the business faced online harassment.
“We’ve got incredible support from our neighbors and fans over the past few days, and all of them have been attacked, threatened, doxed,” he said.
“When you have the platform, fame, money, and power that she has, you can’t just try to squash somebody like a bug and expect everybody to give you a pass,” Rubin said.
The backlash also affected the store’s online reputation.
Yelp temporarily turned off its page after it received increased public attention, warning visitors that the business had recently attracted attention and that the platform would work to keep reviews focused on customers’ firsthand experiences.
Rubin said the store had attempted to contact Clarkson directly but did not know whether she had seen the message. Despite the dispute, he also said she would still be welcome at Art of Play.
Following the dispute, Art of Play raised Molly’s price to a staggering amount
Art of Play displayed a new price of $15 million for the mechanical bird, a huge jump from the $15,000 figure at the center of Clarkson’s complaint.
For now, the dispute remains unresolved.
"Dude couldn't even be bothered to put his coffee down," wrote one netizen
