A Brooklyn novelty shop made it clear Sunday that Molly, a singing and dancing mechanical bird that serves as its unofficial mascot, was not for sale after an incident with Kelly Clarkson.But Tuesday, the store changed its tune.
Molly can now be purchased — for $15 million.Adam Rubin, one of the shop’s co-owners, held a gaggle with reporters Tuesday outside the Atlantic Avenue store and confirmed the hefty price tag.
Rubin did not respond to an NBC News request for comment Wednesday.Clarkson also did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Molly, social media’s latest celebrity, entered the zeitgeist over the weekend after Clarkson shared what she described as a distasteful experience at the Brooklyn store on social media just minutes after visiting it.In a lengthy post, she claimed she “drove all the way to Brooklyn” to check out Art of Play, only to be shooed away when she inquired about purchasing Molly, as if she couldn’t afford the bird.“But y’all should go check out Art of Play in Brooklyn if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman,” Clarkson said.
According to Art of Play, however, that’s not what happened.In its own social media post Sunday, the store said Clarkson asked about buying Molly, but that wasn’t an option since the automaton bird is permanently affixed to its wall.The store said it told Clarkson that Molly wasn’t for sale.
“Sure, it wasn’t for sale.That’s the narrative Art of Play is gonna go with,” Clarkson shot back with another post Sunday.
She said that she asked whether Molly was for sale while pointing to a nearby tag that appeared to list a price for the automaton.She said she was told Molly would cost $15,000, and that the store could find something comparable for her at a lower price point.
A photo of the purported price tag circulated online, and Clarkson included it in her second post.Art of Play then released a second post Monday to “clarify some additional de...