FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2026

Contact: Chelsea Connor | cconnor@rwdsu.org | 347-866-6259

STATEMENT FROM RWDSU ON THE KELLY CLARKSON INCIDENT AT ART OF PLAY IN BROOKLYN

(NEW YORK, NY) – Over the weekend, talk show host and singer Kelly Clarkson posted online recounting an interaction at Art of Play, a boutique in Brooklyn, alleging a clerk gave her “the Pretty Woman treatment” over an alleged $15,000 non-salable display item. Clarkson’s post sparked a wave of public backlash and online harassment directed at the retail worker. In response, Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), issued the following statement:

“Whether it involves a high-profile celebrity or an everyday shopper, no customer has the right to abuse retail workers on the floor or mobilize online harassment against them. This incident isn't about one individual; it highlights a widespread pattern of mistreatment, intimidation, and cyberbullying that retail staff face every single day.

“Store workers do not set store prices, manage corporate supply chains, or control inventory or sales decisions. Taking out frustration or entitlement on workers in-person or online simply doing their job is unacceptable. While legislative protections like New York’s Retail Worker Safety Act establish critical safety baseline standards, we need a fundamental shift in retail culture. Every customer who walks into a store, especially those with massive platforms, has a responsibility to treat retail workers with basic human decency and respect.”

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The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) represents 100,000 members throughout the United States. The RWDSU is affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). For more information, please visit our website at www.rwdsu.org, Facebook:/RWDSU.UFCW, Twitter:@RWDSU, Instagram: @rwdsustrong.