Body language expert breaks down new footage of Kelly Clarkson’s interaction with Brooklyn store Art of Play

A body language expert has broken down some new footage of Kelly Clarkson’s interaction with a Brooklyn store following the viral 'bird drama' controversy, which has sent the internet into quite the spiral.

For anyone not familiar with the bird drama ordeal, it all started when the 44-year-old American Idol star visited the Art of Play and claimed that staff made her feel as if she couldn’t afford a mechanical bird she wanted to buy.

The store disputed her account, saying the bird, Molly, was attached to the wall and not for sale.

There has been a whole lot of back and forth since, but the latest update in the ever-evolving saga involves newly released security footage showing Clarkson browsing the shop and speaking with a staff member.

According to PEOPLE, independent journalist Pablo Torre obtained the silent security footage on Tuesday (13 October).

However, don't get your hopes up, as it has no audio, so it cannot settle exactly what was said.

Sean Johns, a body language expert, has since reviewed the footage.

He says it shows Clarkson arriving ready to shop, then leaving upset.

"The face won't tell you when someone has made up their mind, because it's the most rehearsed part of us. The hands will. An undecided shopper picks things up and puts them down. A decided one holds on and carries the item as if it's already theirs," he shares with Tyla.

Johns, who is the founder of Bodylytics, which specialises in non-verbal communication training, says Clarkson’s movements during the first half of the clip suggest she was engaged with the shop’s stock.

She browses the shelves and looks through a kaleidoscope, then she stops in front of Molly, the mechanical bird at the centre of the disagreement.

"The signal is the stopping, not the starting. That pause is when help matters most," he outlines.

The footage is silent, and the staff members' faces are blurred, so Johns focuses on posture and movement.

He says one staff member appears relaxed while speaking with Clarkson: "A crossed leg and a lean both say 'I'm settled, this won't take long.'

"The cup sits between them like a small barrier. On their own, they're harmless. Together, facing a customer asking about a big-ticket item, they read as low engagement."

He adds: "Posture arrives before words, and it tells her how seriously her question is being taken."

Johns says the staff member then turns to another customer. On a busy shop floor, that may be routine, but he says it could have felt to Clarkson as though the conversation was over.

Before leaving, Clarkson walks back through the shop and returns the items she had been carrying to the shelves, which Johns says is the clearest sign of her shifting intentions.

"This is the baseline change I train people to spot. Don't run down a checklist of gestures. Ask what this person was doing a minute ago and what's changed. A minute ago she was holding on. Now she's letting go," he notes.

Clarkson stops, turns partway back and raises a hand towards a staff member.

Johns interprets the turn as a sign that something remains unresolved, explaining: "Someone who is finished with a place keeps walking. Turning back at the threshold means something is unresolved.

"That's where her frustration shows on the footage, not during the conversation. Outside, a second camera shows her phone coming out."

Clarkson has said she was given 'elevator eyes' - a quick head-to-toe glance. But Johns says the footage cannot establish whether that happened.

"That would last well under a second. A ceiling camera at that distance, with faces blurred, can't resolve it. The footage neither proves nor disproves the look," he resolves.

The footage does show Clarkson browsing, returning items and turning back at the door. But without audio, it cannot confirm what was said or determine exactly why she left upset.