What was supposed to be a fairytale evening for “Bridgerton” fans in Detroit over the weekend devolved into chaos, with attendees complaining that the Regency-era ball had raw food, cheap decor and hardly any staff to help.
Uncle & Me LLC, the Detroit-based event planning company behind the event, had promised attendees “an evening of sophistication, grace, and historical charm,” according to its website, which is no longer up as of Thursday. It said there would be dancing, live music, dinner and drinks.
But several attendees of the “Detroit Bridgerton Themed Ball” — which was not affiliated with Netflix — told NBC News that the Sunday event featured lackluster decorations and performances from just one exotic dancer and a solo violinist.
“We expected a transformation, a transition back in time, and it just didn’t happen,” attendee Myster Whitfield said. “There were so many different flaws with this event. The food was raw, the lack of decor, the lack of security. No one checked any bags, no one scanned our tickets. It was a safety hazard, to say the least.”
Social media posts from outraged eventgoers like Whitfield went viral on TikTok, X and Reddit this week, prompting comparisons to Fyre Festival, a chaotic and pricey island concert that was advertised as a “once-in-a-lifetime musical experience,” and the Willy Wonka experience in Glasgow, Scotland, earlier this year, which was a sparsely decorated warehouse that had little from the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” franchise.
Chelsea Beard, who was an organizer of the ball, issued an apology statement on her Instagram page earlier this week, accompanied by video footage from what appears to be the event.
“Our goal was to create a magical evening, but we recognize that organizational challenges and unforeseen changes, including a last-minute venue and date change, impacted the experience for some guests,” Beard wrote in her caption. The event was originally scheduled for Aug. 25, but was postponed due to the initial venue pulling out of the event, according to WXYZ.
“Unfortunately, some nonrefundable deposits from the original bookings resulted in losses on our end, which added to the challenges,” Beard wrote. “Nonetheless, we take full responsibility for these shortcomings.”
She did not respond to an additional request for comment.
Some attendees said they expected the evening to be like The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Experience, an event affiliated with Netflix and Shondaland that is held in various cities across North America. That event features an immersive, Regency-era experience featuring live music, specialty cocktails and theatrical performances. But the Queen’s Ball has never been held in Detroit, according to its website. The Detroit Bridgerton Themed Ball is also not affiliated with the show.
“I wanted to feel like Daphne,” said attendee Kimberly Pineda, 22, referencing one of the lead characters on season one of the show. “I wanted florals everywhere, violinists playing in the back. It was the idea we were sold for the amount that tickets were going for.”
Pineda, who is a registered nurse, said the problems started as soon as she arrived at the venue. She paid almost $200 for her ticket, but no one checked it at the door. “Anyone without a ticket would have been able to get into the event,” she said.
The chaos only continued from there, she said, as already-disappointed guests scrambled to get in line for food.
“The chicken was raw and the greens that were on the plate were fishy,” she said. “We tried to ignore the elephant in the room: that we were scammed.”
Guests said they were also taken aback at the choice of entertainment: a single exotic dancer performing on a pole.
“It’s definitely not ‘Bridgerton’ style at all,” Whitfield said.
Rakisha Johnson, 36, a member of the event staff, said she was originally hired as a decorator. But after she helped set up, an event organizer stopped her and asked her if she could stay longer to help run the event.
“She had nobody else to help her with the event,” Johnson said. “She needed somebody at the door to scan tickets, and she didn’t have no one to serve food or drinks.”
Johnson’s photo was repeatedly shared online by social media accounts mocking the event, with many pointing out that she was wearing a football jersey — attire that is not associated with the Regency era.
Johnson said she came to the event after attending her son’s football game, and she planned to leave before the event started. But after she stayed to help, she said she began fielding concerns about the food, which was supposed to come out at 7:30 p.m. but wasn’t served until 9 or 10 p.m.
There were also no drinks — including water — so Johnson said she had to text her nephew to buy cases of water bottles to bring for the guests. She also went to a venue upstairs and brought some water bottles herself.
When she realized no one was bringing the food out or serving it, she decided to take that into her own hands too.
“I washed my hands, put some gloves on and started serving food,” she said.
She said she didn’t leave the event until 2 a.m. Monday, after having to handle the cleanup with little help. She didn’t ask for money for any of the additional work beyond the decorating — and claimed organizers still haven’t paid her in full for that.
After a photo of her was featured on the large social media account The Shade Room, which has 29.2 million followers on Instagram, Johnson said she wanted to make it clear she wasn’t directly responsible for anything besides a small part of the decor.
“It had absolutely nothing to do with me,” she said.
As far as how organizers can rectify the situation, many attendees said they want their money back. Screenshots shared by some attendees in a Facebook group for the event suggest the tickets ranged in price between $119 and $1,000. The event’s website, before it was removed, also listed tickets for that price range, according to a page reviewed by NBC News on the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, which archives webpages.
Others said they want organizers to hold a makeup event that exceeds their expectations.
“I spent so much on a look for this event,” Whitfield said. “That special moment I was looking for, I left really disappointed.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, Whitfield and Pineda said organizers have not reached out to them.
In her Instagram post Wednesday, Beard said organizers are “working diligently to address all concerns and will be reaching out with further details shortly.”
“Your feedback, both positive and constructive, is greatly appreciated,” she wrote. “You can expect an email with next steps.”
