Why Was There a Pole Dancer at This Bridgerton-Themed Event?
You might not have realized it, but something has been off. A poorly organized scammy event hadn’t gone viral in over six months. Earlier this year, we had the pleasure of witnessing the immersive “Willy’s Chocolate Experience,” but we were due for a new IP-based, experiential disaster. Thankfully, a Bridgerton-themed ball in Detroit stepped up.
Officially titled the “Detroit Bridgerton Themed Ball,” the event took place this past Sunday. Organizers had promised “an evening of sophistication, grace, and historical charm” filled with “music, dance, and exquisite costumes.” With tickets costing anywhere from $150 to $1,000, you’d think that would all be doable. What attendees got instead was “complete chaos,” “extremely tacky” décor, and a pole dancer.
Well into the event, there was nothing to do. People were bored and just sat on their phones pic.twitter.com/XxR8NjFndm
— Rachel Eaton @ Realta (@rayleearts) September 24, 2024
The “dancing” they had was ONE. STRIPPER. pic.twitter.com/lEyL6DbNgf
— Rachel Eaton @ Realta (@rayleearts) September 24, 2024
“It was complete chaos today,” one woman told local ABC affiliate WXYZ. “They never even scanned our tickets.”
“The way that it was described was this was going to be a Bridgerton evening. We were going to have classical music, good dinner. There was going to be a play, and they were going to pick ‘diamond of the season,’” another upset attendee explained. “They were going to give away all of these prizes, and we went in and it was completely empty in there.”
On the event’s sparse website, one of the few things the organizers did promise were prizes. In fact, they said there was going to be a $2,000 cash prize for the best dressed. Unsurprisingly, that was not handed out.
The whole event seems to have been thrown together at the last minute, even though it had been pushed back a month from its original date. The pole dancer, a local aerialist named Tink, told WXYZ that she was hired just three hours before the event started.
“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 said. “A lot of people thought it would have been better if I did hair suspension … Even the silks — that would have been so pretty, having the fabrics flying around. I think that would have matched the vibe.”
Chelsea Beard, co-owner of the event company Uncle & Me LLC, has released a statement about the disastrous event on Instagram. In the caption of a highlight Reel from the evening, she wrote:
“We understand that not everyone had the experience they anticipated at our event on Sunday night at The Harmonie Club, and for that, we sincerely apologize. 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. Unfortunately, some nonrefundable deposits from the original bookings resulted in losses on our end, which added to the challenges. Nonetheless, we take full responsibility for these shortcomings.”
The comments are turned off.
Over on Facebook, disgruntled guests have started a group called “Bridgerton Ball Scam — Detroit,” where they are trying to organize a class-action lawsuit. Several members of the group have filed fraud reports with the Detroit Police Department, and filing a complaint to the Michigan attorney general has been suggested. One person is already claiming to be looking at venues for a redo so they can all have the “true Bridgerton experience” they were hoping for. People are understandably skeptical.
If this year has taught us anything, it’s that you should always be wary of an immersive experience that has no connection to the thing you’re being immersed in. This one didn’t even give us an indelible image à la the miserable Oompa Loompa. What a waste!
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