Oct 15, 2026
One single post on X from one annoyed celebrity. Within days, a small curiosity shop in Brooklyn said it was under attack from millions of people who had never set foot inside.
The feud between Kelly Clarkson and Art of Play isn’t just fodder for TMZ. But for Canadian small business owners who rely on a Google star rating to bring in foot traffic, it’s a clear example of how quickly a reputation — and the revenue tied to it — can be hijacked by people who were never customers.
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You have no control who decides to review you. What you can control is how prepared you are, what you say back and which mistakes to avoid when a one-star review pops up.
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What happened between Kelly Clarkson and Art of Play?
On Oct. 10, Clarkson shared on X that she visited the Brooklyn small business with a few things in mind to buy and was offered something similar after being treated as though she couldn’t afford what she wanted. Her message to the employee: “You’re an idiot and just lost a huge sale.” Incredulous fans of the beloved talk show host and singer took to Google and piled on with negative online reviews.
The store responded in an Instagram post, saying the item Clarkson asked about, a singing bird automaton named Molly, was a fixture used in its magic shows and not for sale. According to Forbes, the store said the bird’s creator owned a nearly identical piece priced at US$15,000, and staff had offered to show her a German-made alternative at about US$2,000 before she left. Clarkson says that’s not how the scene went down, sharing a photo that appeared to show a price tag beside the bird. Her original post drew more than 39 million views, and the store said it had been “attacked by 8 million people who have never visited our store.”
The online back-and-forth continues across social media. Some argue Clarkson is merely seeking attention, while others point out that someone known for being kind and unproblematic wouldn’t post publicly without good reason. While the debate remains unresolved, the outcome for the shop is clear: its online reputation took a heavy hit.
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Why should Canadian small businesses care about a review pile-on?
Most Canadian small businesses heavily rely on being found online. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), a non-profit that advocates for small and medium-sized businesses, surveyed owners in September 2025 and found 84% use digital channels to promote their business, with 52% actively using Google Business Profile or Maps.
That kind of visibility cuts both ways. A survey by consumer review platform Sitejabber found fewer than half of consumers (44%) are aware of review bombing, and only a third say a sudden influx of negative reviews would not sway their purchasing decisions. The negative impact is worse when shoppers take a star rating at face value. As Sitejabber CEO Michael Lai pointed out to CX Drive, failing to read the actual context can leave a business vulnerable: “Any act of review bombing can be devastating.”
Few small business owners have a crisis plan ready. The CFIB also found two-thirds (66%) of business owners say lack of time is their greatest obstacle when it comes to managing digital tools.
Can you get weaponized reviews removed — or sue?
There might sometimes be recourse, but you need realistic expectations.
Google says you can report any review, but only those that violate Google policies are eligible for removal. Owners can flag reviews through their Business Profile or the Reviews Management Tool, and Google uses automated spam detection to remove reviews that are identified as spam. A harsh or unfair review isn’t automatically removable.
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Legal action is possible, but it isn’t quick and it isn’t cheap. We have a precedent right here at home. In Houseman v Harrison, a Saskatchewan court awarded a dentist $240,000 after two former employees posted nine fabricated reviews in a campaign to harm his reputation and business. The court noted in its decision that with defamatory comments online, the truth rarely catches up with a lie.
That case involved identifiable people and reviews that were proven to be false. A crowd of anonymous strangers reacting to a celebrity’s post is a much harder case to build.
What mistakes can make a review attack worse?
The biggest temptation is fighting back with your own, positive reviews. The Competition Bureau, an independent federal law enforcement agency, warns that employees must disclose all connections they have with a business when reviewing it, even if they’re giving an honest opinion. In 2021, the Bureau secured a $5 million penalty against online travel agency FlightHub after finding the company posted fake positive reviews.
Escalating publicly is risky in its own right. Art of Play’s statement acknowledged that the experience Clarkson described would resonate with anyone who has ever felt judged in a shop, and said all visitors are equally welcome — validating the complaint without conceding the facts.
What to do now
If you find yourself on the wrong end of bad Google reviews, it’s not a death knell on your business, but you definitely can’t and shouldn’t ignore it.
- Claim and verify your Google Business Profile so you are able to reply to and report reviews
- Screenshot reviews, timestamps and reviewer profiles as soon as a spike begins
- Only report reviews that break platform policies and track them in the Reviews Management Tool
- Post one calm, factual public response that acknowledges feelings and skips the name-calling
- Ask real customers for honest reviews and never post, buy or ghost-write fake reviews
- Speak with a lawyer before threatening legal action
The Kelly Clarkson feud started with a few words over a mechanical bird, which is a reminder that the best defence often begins before anyone posts. The stakes are high because, as Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell put it: “Online reviews often strike at the heart of a consumer’s buying decision.”
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Leslie Kennedy served as an editor at Thomson Reuters and for Star Media Group, followed by a number of years as a writer and editor and content manager in marketing communications, before returning to her editorial roots. She is a graduate of Humber College’s post-graduate journalism program and has been a professional writer and editor ever since.
