Kelly Clarkson vs Art of Play: Why I Believe Her

Kelly Clarkson went to Art of Play in Brooklyn, asked about a singing mechanical bird named Molly, and left feeling talked down to. She posted about it that afternoon, and she named the store. The shop answered with a statement, then a longer follow-up full of details.

I believe Kelly Clarkson, and the reasons are in the shop's own response. When people are wrong, they tend to offer details instead of accountability. Contempt is hard to hide, too. People know the exact moment someone decides they can't afford something.

We look at the Muck Rack numbers (more than 2,000 articles in three days, with almost as much positive sentiment as negative), why the story peaked on a holiday weekend, whether Kelly should have named the store, what the shop should have said, and what any small business can take from it the next time a bad review lands.

At the end: the new White House press secretary's first briefing, and Kimberly Guilfoyle's statement resigning as ambassador to Greece, in which she calls the allegations against her false.

The PR Breakdown is a weekly look at the PR moves and the spin behind the headlines, from a crisis communication and reputation management consultant. This episode was recorded live on October 13.

00:00 Why this story, and why today
01:44 Kelly Clarkson's post
02:39 What Muck Rack shows
04:20 Two lines of sentiment
06:06 The bird named Molly
07:56 Art of Play's first statement
09:40 Why it peaked on a holiday weekend
11:23 The business behind the store
12:13 Do I believe Kelly Clarkson?
14:59 Should she have named the store?
16:43 Her reply
18:25 The five-minute visit
19:16 Details instead of accountability
20:07 Crisis lessons for both sides
21:51 Should Kelly respond?
22:45 Is all publicity good publicity?
25:29 What the shop should have said
26:20 Write it, then wait
27:05 A new press secretary's first briefing
28:55 Kimberly Guilfoyle and Greece
30:39 The resignation statement
34:06 Receipts
35:00 Closing

Every week I break down the biggest PR crises in the news: the slips, the moves, the scandals, and the lessons behind the headlines. I'm Molly McPherson, crisis and reputation strategist, known to my audience as the PR Lady. This channel is home base for the podcast and my weekly Substack live chats. Subscribe and follow along.

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