Detroit 'Bridgerton' Fans Are Furious After Immersive Themed 'Ball' Becomes The Latest 'Willy Wonka'-Type Scam
It might even have been worse than the Wonka debacle. And one ticket holder said she saw it coming a mile away.
LCV | Shutterstock If you were anywhere near the internet earlier this year, you surely went down a social media rabbit hole when the debacle surrounding the Willy Wonka-themed "Willy's Chocolate Experience" immersive event in Glasgow, Scotland, erupted.
Now, there's a "Bridgerton" entertainment-themed event that has turned out to be a complete and utter scam. And one ticket holder said the signs were there right from the beginning.
Fans in Detroit are furious after an immersive 'Bridgerton'-themed ball turned out to be a scam.
Netflix's "Bridgerton" is pretty much tailor-made for this kind of supposedly "immersive" event. The series takes place in the Regency era of the 19th century, and it is full of elaborate costumes and wigs, along with swooningly romantic dances, that make it perfect for a cosplay.
An elegant dress-up event is what events company Uncle N Me's "Bridgerton Themed Ball" ticket holders were promised. But much like the disastrous Glasgow "Willy's Chocolate Experience" in February, what attendees found when they actually showed up was nothing of the sort.
Attendees showed up to find a nearly empty space that was centered around an exotic dancer and a stripper pole.
Suffice it to say, the elegance and opulence of Netflix's show — which many attendees said they spent hundreds of dollars to replicate with their costumes, not to mention the event tickets — was absolutely nowhere to be found when attendees showed up to Detroit's gorgeous and historic Harmonie Club.
"The way that it was described was this was going to be a 'Bridgerton evening,'" attendee Amanda Sue Mathis told local ABC affiliate WXYZ. "We were gonna have classical music, good dinner. There was gonna be a play, and they were gonna pick Diamond of the season. They were gonna give away all of these prizes."
Instead, attendees found… well, absolutely none of that. "We went in and it was completely empty in there," Mathis said. Well — not completely empty. "They have a pole in the middle of the dance floor. A stripper pole in the middle of the dance floor."
Even worse were the ticket prices. Some packages cost $250 or more. As another attendee, Ayrton Hamrick, told WXYZ, "It was definitely the price tag that had given us this expectation of luxury, regality, class, the 'Bridgerton' experience." But not even the parking was up to snuff. Instead of the valet parking that was promised, Hamrick ended up paying to self-park.
Strippers and parking inconveniences are only scratching the surface of this debacle, however. Attendees reported that even the food was not up to snuff. It reportedly ran out within the first hour, but that's probably for the best because attendees reported items like chicken were undercooked and staffers were spotted reusing people's cups.
One ticket holder who was — thankfully — unable to attend said it was clear long before the event that it was a scam.
In a thread on X, ticket holder Rachel Eaton said it became clear very early on that the "Bridgerton" Themed Ball was a scam. The event was originally scheduled for August at Detroit's beautiful Beacon Park in the middle of downtown, but shortly before the date, organizers Uncle N Me sent an email saying that "unforeseen circumstances" required the event to be moved to September at a new venue.
When Eaton emailed to request a refund after the change, she received no response at all. "At that point, I knew I got scammed, lol," she wrote in an X post. It later turned out that Uncle N Me had lied about the reasons for the change in the first place.
In a TikTok comment, a user who said they work for Beacon Park said the event was canceled because Uncle N Me "wouldn't pay the remaining money to rent the venue."
But despite the pretty obvious attempt at a scam being unmasked, Uncle N Me LLC does not appear eager to rectify the situation. In a statement to WXYZ, the company said they "sincerely apologize" that "organizational challenges affected the enjoyment of some guests" and are "reviewing resolution options, which will be communicated shortly."
That doesn't exactly inspire confidence. For her part, Eaton said she hopes the debacle ends in a lawsuit and feels she and other ticket holders are owed a refund despite falling for Uncle N Me's okey-doke.
"I know I am" gullible, she said in an X post. "Still not my fault! Don't scam people!"
Fair enough — and all the more reason to make sure these themed events are put on by people authorized to produce them in the first place. Buyer beware!
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.