Sunny Hostin weighs in on Kelly Clarkson’s store dispute: ‘Don’t become a Karen’

Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro criticised Kelly Clarkson's decision to share her dispute with Brooklyn toy store online

The View co-host Sunny Hostin has advised Kelly Clarkson to handle her dispute with a Brooklyn toy store privately after the singer publicly described an alleged negative shopping experience.

During the Monday, October 12, episode of the ABC talk show, Hostin discussed Clarkson's disagreement with Art of Play over a singing bird automaton reportedly valued at $15,000.

"It felt like a champagne problem to me that should have been handled kind of privately," Hostin said. "I think the better thing to do is handle it privately. You don't want to become a Karen."

Fellow co-host Ana Navarro also criticised the decision to discuss the incident publicly, pointing to Clarkson's large social media following.

"When you have a platform of millions of followers … you have to be careful because it's an uneven wield of power and you're hurting working people," Navarro said.

The dispute began when Clarkson, 44, posted on X on Saturday, October 10, alleging that an employee at Art of Play had treated her condescendingly while she enquired about a singing bird. She compared the experience to Julia Roberts' character in the 1990 film Pretty Woman.

Art of Play responded on Instagram the following day, claiming that the bird, named Molly, was permanently attached to the wall and was not for sale.

Clarkson challenged that account on X and Instagram Stories, sharing a photograph of a $15,000 price tag for an item labelled "Singing Bird". She also described what she said had happened during the conversation with the employee.

The store subsequently issued another Instagram statement to clarify its account of the visit. It said the artist who created the automaton, Bliss Kolb, based in Seattle, had a twin of the piece available for purchase for $15,000.

The exchange prompted discussion on The View about how celebrities' social media reach can affect businesses and their employees.