Los Angeles repair shop faces backlash over restored vintage camera

Photographer Kai George took her grandmother's vintage 1960s Rolleiflex camera to Walter's Camera Video and Digital Repair shop in Los Angeles to restore it, the Daily Mail reported. George alleged in TikTok videos that the shop swapped some of the original camera parts for damaged ones. She claimed the business did more than the agreed job of replacing the mirror and lubricating its components. [1]

The Daily Mail noted that the online controversy around the Los Angeles store follows a similar public dispute involving singer Kelly Clarkson. As FTMQ News reported earlier, Clarkson publicly criticised the Brooklyn store Art of Play on social media after claiming an employee treated her as if she could not afford the merchandise. Clarkson compared her experience at the Brooklyn shop to a scene in the movie Pretty Woman. [1][8]

The conflict involving Clarkson centered around a $15,000 mechanical bird, Fox News reported. Crisis public relations expert Steve Honig told Fox News Digital that while some people might see Clarkson as acting vindictively, most people would feel she acted accordingly. Fox News, the Washington Examiner, and RadarOnline all covered the fallout from Clarkson's social media post. [2][3][5]

Clarkson rose to fame after winning the first season of American Idol and has hosted the syndicated daytime talk show The Kelly Clarkson Show since 2019. Her discography includes ten studio albums, and she has earned three Grammy Awards. [6][7]