Why a ‘Bridgerton Ball’ Experience Is Being Likened to the Disastrous Willy Wonka Event

The lavish balls of Bridgerton are back in the news, months after Season 3 of the hit Netflix show hit screens. This time, though, it’s not for the music or the ornate gowns. Instead, it’s because of a disastrous “Detroit Bridgerton Themed Ball” that did not go as planned.

Fans who decided to attend Detroit’s Bridgerton ball on Sunday have taken to social media to complain about the experience, saying it was unorganized and disappointing, with many requesting refunds.

According to the event website, the ball was set to let fans “step into the enchanting world of the Regency… a night like no other filled with music, dance, and exquisite costumes.” The website also claimed that there would be prizes and giveaways for attendees.

However, TikToks and posts shared on X (formerly Twitter) paint a very different picture. Attendees showed how they danced in a barely decorated room, said they were fed “raw” food, and were left feeling “scammed.”

The event had already been rescheduled from its original date last month to Sept. 22.

“I think we were all really angry about it, because we had built up these expectations and the tickets were not cheap,” attendee Camerin Morey told 7 News. “I definitely think that the people in this company were just in it to make money and try to maybe copycat off a successful event. But they either had no idea what they were doing, or just didn’t care.”

The event management company behind the Bridgerton Themed Ball event, Uncle and Me LLC, has disabled comments on their social media.

TIME has reached out to Uncle and Me LLC for comment.

Netflix and Shondaland presented their own version of the show's beautiful parties in 2022, through a touring experience called “The Queen’s Ball,” which reached 11 cities. Detroit was not one of those cities, though, and the recent ball seems to be entirely unrelated to the Bridgerton-sponsored events.

Read More: How a Willy Wonka Event in the U.K. Ended in Calls to Police and Demands For Refunds

Comparisons are being made between the Detroit event and the infamous Willy Wonka experience in Glasgow, Scotland, which made headlines back in February after attendees called the police amid outrage over the event.

After entering what was advertised as a “full immersive experience…promising a day of pure imagination and wonder,” fans of Willy Wonka instead reported an “absolute shambles,” where they received no chocolate, leading outraged parents to demand refunds for their £35 ($44) tickets.