Bridgerton superfans were left furious after spending at least $150 to attend a supposedly glam event based on the Netflix hit show – which turned into a Fyre festival-like flop.
The Detroit Bridgerton Themed ball on September 22 was billed as a chance for fans to ‘step into the enchanting world of the Regency-era… for an evening of sophistication, grace and historical charm.’
Tickets for the ball cost a minimum of $150 but some fans spent up to $1,000 on the Duke and Duchess option, which was supposed to come with dinner, orchestra music, a professional dance card, professional photos and a valet, according to AV Club.
Others spent hundreds of dollars more on ball gowns, flights to Detroit for the supposedly glamorous event, hotels and Airbnbs.
But when they arrived at three-story Harmonie Club for a night of ballroom dancing and being treated like royalty, they were greeted with cheap decor, one lonely violinist and a scantily-dressed pole-dancing stripper who said she was hired just three hours before the event.
It wound up being so boring that photos and videos posted online showed women sitting on the floor in ballgowns scrolling through their phones.
Bridgerton superfans were left furious after spending hundreds of dollars on a ball based on the Netflix hit
The ball, organized by Uncle & Me LLC, was so boring it left women sitting on the ground in their ballgowns
The ball was organized by Uncle & Me LLC, and had originally been scheduled for late August.
It was then abruptly rescheduled just three days before the ball was set to kick off, after some superfans had already spent money on flights and accommodations, one event-goer, Nina, shared on TikTok.
The company had apparently lied by saying the original venue would not accommodate all of their guests for the sold-out event – when in fact it refused to pay the remainder of the money it needed to rent out the facility, Rachel Eaton alleged.
Uncle & Me LLC then refused to offer refunds and did not respond to emails asking for one.
The event was compared to other failed ventures such as a notorious Willy Wonka festival in Glasgow that ended in disaster and the infamous Fyre festival disaster in the Bahamas.
The only dancing was a scantily-dressed pole-dancing stripper who said she was hired just three hours before the event
Then on Sunday, eager fans were left waiting in the rain to get inside the three-floor ballrooms and show off their ballgowns and custom suits, WXYZ reports.
One Bridgerton fan said she ‘hadn’t even walked in’ to The Harmonie Club when she saw more than 60 people leaving.
‘People told me to just go bar hopping with them,’ a TikToker said.
Others told nobody was at the entrance checking their tickets, so anybody was able to walk in.
‘All attendees looked absolutely decked out, but there was zero direction,’ an event-goer wrote on Reddit. ‘We essentially followed the crowd to the third floor, where we saw LOCAL FREAKNG VENDORS selling goods like we were at a local festival.
‘After seeing people sitting on the floor in disappointment, my wife and I left,’ the Redditor claimed.
Excited fans were left waiting in the rain to get inside the three-floor ballrooms and show off their ballgowns and custom suits
One Bridgerton fan said she ‘hadn’t even walked in’ to The Harmonie Club when she saw more than 60 people leaving
The backdrops and decor appeared to have come from stores like Party City or Dollar General, disappointed fans said.
‘As soon as I get up the stairs, I’m like, we’re not watching the same Bridgerton show,’ Nita said in her video.
She told how the woman who was supposed to portray Queen Charlotte was pushing her business card and telling her to follow her on Instagram, while another TikTok user, Myster Whitfield, recounted how the queen greeted him by saying: ‘What up doe?’
‘They didn’t even put the main violinist that was the most on theme, in the main ballroom,’ he complained. ‘They put her on the second floor where people were just roaming, sitting on the floor.’
To help with the music, Nita said, organizers installed glow-in-the-dark speakers, and the only performance was one woman pole dancing in a red bikini.
‘I never seen a pole in the show,’ Whitfield said.
By the time the night ended, the event organizers were playing the song Soulja Boy, Nita noted.
A scheduled best-dressed competition for a cash prize also never happened, nor did the organizers choose a Diamond of the Seas like they do on the show, Eaton said.
TikToker Nita told how the woman who was supposed to portray Queen Charlotte was pushing her business card and telling her to follow her on Instagram, while another TikTok user recounted how the queen greeted him by saying: ‘What up doe?’
Even the food and drinks were disappointing, guests said.
The ball apparently ran out of food after just about an hour, and some of it was still raw. The food was also served by people wearing just jerseys and jeans, and the cups had to be reused because the organizer had not ordered enough.
At the same time, nobody was hired to pick up the plates – leaving it up to the ticket-paying guests themselves to pile up strangers’ plates, they said.
And even though the ball had advertised a ball and a sit-down dinner for VIPs to enjoy, ‘what we really got was – it’s going to sound funny – Kool-Aid from a bottle, no bar,’ Pedro Soto told WXYZ.
‘We had to reuse cups, not enough plates,’ he said. ‘The backdrops were just paper. It was nothing special.’
Soto said he had hoped the ball would be a chance for him and his newlywed bride to celebrate after the two eloped just one day before.
‘She was really excited,’ he said of his new bride. ‘She bought all this stuff for her outfit and it just ended up being something we didn’t expect it to be.’
There was just one violinist, even though guests were promised orchestra music
The event quickly ran out of food, some of which guests said were still raw, and was being served by a woman in a jersey and jeans
‘This is truly a horror story and I’m just completely awestruck seeing everything that happened,’ added Detroit acrobat Tink, who performed at the event as the pole dancer.
‘Normally it’s not like that. Normally when you go to a show, especially [for] a circus performer, it’s an amazing experience. You get wowed, thrilled even. It’s a little dangerous and I’m sad they didn’t get to experience that,’ she insisted.
Tink has been a professional circus performer and coach at Pole Fit for five years, she told the local new station.
She said Uncle & Me LLC hired her just three hours before the event and asked her to pole dance.
‘When I gave them the menu, they did pick pole dancing between hair suspension, Lyra hoop and aerial sling – and pole dance is what we went with,’ Tink explained.
‘A lot of people thought it would have been better if I did hair suspension,’ she continued. ‘I do know that’s a higher price for budget and I think because it was so last minute, if they had more time we probably could have had hair suspension there.
‘Even the silks, that would have been so pretty, having the fabrics flying around, I think that would have matched the vibe.’
Tink went on to note that Uncle & Me LLC also selected and approved her skimpy outfit – a red bra and matching panty.
‘I just feel very bad for all the patrons who showed up to the event, just because my goal as a performer is to bring happiness and cheers to everyone,’ she said.
‘So it kind of just bummed me out knowing everyone was so unhappy with the outcome.’
A scheduled best-dressed competition for a cash prize also never happened, nor did the organizers choose a Diamond of the Seas like they do on the show
Uncle & Me LLC said it is reviewing options to make it up to the paying guests
As photos and videos of the disastrous event spread online, some Michiganders revealed they had a similar experience at a Bridgerton-themed tea party in Taylor that Uncle & Me LLC put on back in June.
‘I’m like “this sounds familiar,”‘ Tamela Everett said.
She told WXYZ how she paid $80 for a ticket to the June event and the decor was beautiful, but she had to wait in line for hours to get food that was cold when it was finally served.
‘It’s a tea party, there’s no tea at all, running out of mimosas, running out of serving glasses for the mimosas,’ Everett recounted.
She said she now thinks something needs to be done about Uncle & Me LLC.
‘I’m like this company has to be stopped. How are they able to get away with this? Profiting off of the Bridgerton name but just giving subpar performances and experiences.’
‘This company is making a lot of money off of regular hard-working people and it’s not really fair.’
But the event was not licensed or sponsored by Netflix, which hosts its own touring event called The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Experience.
The event was not licensed or sponsored by Netflix, which hosts its own touring event called The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Experience
After days of disappointed fans demanding answers, Uncle & Me LLC told the local news station: ‘We understand that not everyone had the experience they hoped for at our most recent event Sunday night at The Harmonie Club and for that, we sincerely apologize.
‘Our intention was to provide a magical evening, but we recognize that organizational challenges affected the enjoyment of some guests.
‘We take full responsibility and accountability for these shortcomings,’ the company said.
‘Please know that we are working diligently to address all concerns to ensure that all guests have the enjoyable experience they deserve. Your feedback is invaluable and we truly appreciate both the positive and constructive comments shared with us.
‘We are reviewing resolution options, which will be communicated shortly,’ Uncle & Me LLC added.
‘Your understanding and loyalty mean the world to us, and we are committed to doing everything in our power to make this right.’
Everett, though, said she thinks the company should have just treated ‘all of us fairly and if there’s something, a hiccup that happens, take accountability and learn from it because we work hard for our money, especially in this economy, and we deserve to get exactly what we’re paying for.’
‘Do the right thing, especially when you do such a big event and people expect so much for you,’ Soto added.
‘Just do the right thing. Give their money back.
‘I don’t think hosting another event would be the smartest choice,’ he added.
