Fans of the Netflix show “Bridgerton” say they were scammed out of hundreds of dollars over the weekend after they paid to attend what was billed as a Regency-era ball in Detroit based on the show, only to face a last-minute rescheduling and a bare-bones event that’s drawing comparisons to the viral “Willy Wonka Experience” earlier this year.

Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan’s in “Bridgerton.”

Netflix

Key Facts

The “Detroit Bridgerton-Themed Ball” event promised to be an “evening of sophistication, grace, and historical charm” featuring a costume contest that would award the best-dressed attendee a $2,000 cash prize, classical music, a theatrical show and the naming of a “Diamond of the Season,” as happens in the Netflix original series.

None of that came to be, attendees said, and instead fans of the show said thepaid hundreds of dollars for tickets for a “scam” event that was pushed back at the last minute (it was rescheduled days before its original date of Aug. 25 to Sunday, Sept. 22) and featured none of the promised elements.

Regency-era entertainment was replaced by a singular exotic dancer, who performed to the music of a lone violin player on a pole at the center of the dance floor, according to testimony and photos from attendees, and dinner reportedly “ran out after an hour, and some was raw.”

Photos and videos from the event show fans dressed to the nines and standing around a bare-bones room at the historic Harmonie Club in Detroit, with decor described as “Temu decorations” and centerpieces on dinner tables without flower arrangements inside.

The organizer of the event, Uncle N Me LLC, said in a statement to 7 News Detroit that it understands “that not everyone had the experience they hoped for at our most recent event” and is “working diligently to address all concerns.”

The “Bridgerton” ball in Detroit was not affiliated with Netflix.

Big Number

Between $150 to $1,000. That’s how much tickets to the Bridgerton ball in Detroit cost, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Crucial Quote

“The way that it was described was this was going to be a Bridgerton evening. We were gonna have classical music, good dinner. There was gonna be a play and they were gonna pick the diamond of the season. They were gonna give away all of these prizes and we went in and it was completely empty in there,” guest Amanda Sue Mathis told 7 News. “There is nothing going on. They have a pole in the middle of the dance floor.”

Key Background

In-person events based on books and TV shows have grown in popularity in recent years. Netflix last year hosted an official touring event called “The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Experience” in cities across the country that included live performances, drinks, music and dancing, and an actress dressed as the Queen chose a “diamond” of the evening. The dress code for the event encouraged formal or Regency-inspired attire and the streamer sold officially licensed accessories like satin gloves and fans in its merchandise store. Tickets started at $39. An annual “Velaris Starfall Ball,” based on an event described in the popular “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series, goes viral on TikTok each year for its elaborate set up and costumes. Tickets for the 2025 ball, which cost $400 each with optional $140 VIP add-ons, went on sale this April for an event hosted in the San Francisco City Hall building next September.

Tangent

The ‘Bridgerton’ ball in Detroit has drawn comparisons to the viral “Willy’s Chocolate Experience” that was abruptly canceled in Scotland last year after parents claimed they were duped into buying expensive tickets for their families. Advertisements for the experience promised children would experience an “Enchanted Garden” and “Imagination Lab” based on Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory described in Roald Dahl’s beloved book, but parents said they were tricked into paying as much as £35 per ticket to enter an industrial building featuring a lone bounce castle and several sad decorations. The police were called and the event was shut down hours after it opened.