In this conversational YouTube clip, Molly McPherson interviews Jay, a PR professional, about the viral story of Kelly Clarkson visiting a Brooklyn store where a bird named Molly was reportedly priced at $15,000. They explore the headline framing of the incident, public reaction, and the power dynamics of a celebrity with 8 million followers confronting a small business. The store disputes the narrative, claiming they offered Clarkson a different, less‑expensive bird ($2,000) and were gracious in their handling. Molly plans a Substack live session to dissect the reputational fallout, positioning the episode as a case study in celebrity‑small‑business PR strategy.
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So, the Kelly Clarkson story. But Kelly Clarkson visits this store in Brooklyn. A bird on the wall named Molly. Apparently, there is a price tag that said $15,000. Is this tracking with what you know of that story, Jay?
I didn't read to see what the incident was.
What's your headline of the story? Like, what's your take?
The headline was something about Kelly Clarkson, uh, has a Pretty Woman moment and was objecting to the way she was essentially treated in some store.
Okay. Yeah. And it didn't make you want to read the story?
I did want to, but I had to move on to something else.
But it's all over the internet right now. Everybody's talking about it. So she kind of puts the place on full blast and says, oh, if y'all want to know, it's this store, you know, in Brooklyn. I posted on Substack quickly and some people said, hey, you don't— it's like, don't pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel type of a moment. Like, how do you go after Kelly Clarkson who has 8 million followers? But then some are saying, but you know, Kelly Clarkson has a lot of followers and a lot of pull. Should she have done this to a small business? Jay, you're in PR. What would you say?
Well, so there's— but the store is saying that's not what happened.
Exactly. They're saying, oh no, we were very gracious with her, explained it's one of a kind, and then they pointed her to another bird, a non-Molly bird, that was less expensive, like $2,000. But Kelly Clarkson pulled away feeling very Julia Roberts, very Vivian. But I'm gonna do a live tomorrow on Substack at 12 PM Eastern time, and Everyone is going to dissect this, 'cause even though it's a celebrity story, it's really a reputation story.
