Kathy Griffin sides with Kelly Clarkson in Brooklyn store feud, slams owners as ‘petty’

See more of our coverage in your search results. Kathy Griffin is firmly Team Kelly Clarkson. The outspoken comedian defended the “American Idol” winner amid her bitter feud with a Brooklyn toy store, blasting the business as “petty” for how it handled the controversy. “I’m Team Kelly because I just love her,” Griffin, 65, told Page Six in an exclusive interview. “I’ve known her since the night she won ‘American Idol,’ and I think she has become more real since her [talk show] got canceled, more herself.” A feud erupted over the weekend when Clarkson, 44, slammed Art of Play on social media, accusing an employee of treating her poorly after allegedly assuming she couldn’t afford a rare mechanical singing bird named Molly, which had a price tag of $15,000. (The price tag now reads $15 million.) Kathy Griffin, photographed in 2025, is on Kelly Clarkson’s side in the singer’s feud with a Brooklyn toy store. Getty Images for The Environmental Media Association “I’m Team Kelly because I just love her,” Griffin told Page Six. Getty Images The former talk show host claimed that the staffer was patronizing and rudely offered to find her a cheaper alternative, prompting her to call him an “idiot” who had forfeited a “huge sale.” Clarkson said she felt treated like Julia Roberts’ character in “Pretty Woman” when Vivian Ward is treated badly by snooty staff on Rodeo Drive. Griffin believes that Clarkson is telling the truth. “I know her well enough to know she is not somebody who would hop online, make up a lie that would be so outrageous it could take down a business,” Griffin explained. “She is well aware of the size of her fan base…I think Kelly probably made the post without a ton of thought. I doubt she got together with her pr and legal team. She was probably like me, posting late at night, and I believe her because she doubled down.” Clarkson, photographed in 2024, alleged she was treated poorly in the Brooklyn store, Art of Play. GC Images The blowup centers around a rare mechanical singing bird named Molly. AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura Clarkson doubled down after the store offered a tepid apology and accused them of lying about the situation. The “My Life on the D-List” star stressed that she’s not a “corporate shill” and understands Art of Play is an independently owned business, but thinks they missed the ball. “I actually think they look petty and the store would blow up, business-wise, if they had just said, ‘Oh my god, we’re so embarrassed,'” she opined. “I think the store could have said, ‘We all have bad days at the office, and I think whoever she was dealing with personally should have sent her flowers and said, ‘I was having a bad day.'” Want more celebrity and pop culture news? Start your day with Page Six Daily. Thanks for signing up! Clarkson alleged the store treated her like the Julia Roberts’ character in “Pretty Woman.” Gregory P. Mango for NY Post Griffin, seen here on “The View” in 2026, called the store “petty.” ABC via Getty Images One of the store’s co-owners, Adam Rubin, has hit back at Clarkson and her “reprehensible abuse of power,” which unleashed a torrent of online abuse against the business. “It’s a pop star, a mechanical bird; it’s surreal. When this thing first started, everybody wanted us to die,” Rubin exclusively told Page Six, referring to the hundreds of threatening messages his staffers have received since Clarkson dragged their store on social media. “And as the truth has come to light, thinking people realize this is reprehensible abuse of power,” he continued. “We have to reconsider the place we give celebrities in our society.” Griffin is currently on tour and will be performing at The Town Hall on Friday. Community Guidelines Welcome to the Page Six Community! Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas in a safe space. In order to do so, we've created a simple set of rules that will improve your experience. Simply put, keep it civil. Your post will/might be rejected if it contains: Spam Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language and threats of any kind Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author User accounts will/might be blocked if we notice: Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected Racist, sexist, or homophobic comments Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk So, how can you be a power user? Stay on topic and share your passion. Feel free to elaborate to get your point across. 'Like' or 'Dislike' when you are filled with emotions! Protect your community. Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules. Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Don't forget, freedom of speech is not the freedom of reach!