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Guests at the Bridgerton Ball in Detroit describe royal pain and talk about legal action

Posted on by Vanessa
Guests at the Bridgerton Ball in Detroit describe royal pain and talk about legal action

While Sunday's Bridgerton Ball in Detroit drew nationwide ridicule, rumors of lawsuits circulated and the company behind the formal fiasco went silent.

On Sunday, attendees arrived downtown at the historic Harmonie Club in elegant Regency-inspired dresses, ready for a night of sophistication based on Netflix's popular TV series.

Instead, they said they received cheap decor, raw food and entertainment that had little to no resemblance to the show's early 19th-century British setting, including a strikingly contemporary stripper.

Alyssa Camille of Detroit documented the debacle on her TikTok account.

Camille said she paid $150 per ticket for herself and her fiancée, but more expensive packages were selling for up to $1,000.

Upon entering the venue, customers discovered that their enchanted evening wasn't quite what they expected.

A single speaker played bouncy Bridgerton music. Cheap decor and flimsy backdrops for photo ops had seemingly been placed randomly. The plain white walls were illuminated by bright light.

“I don’t understand why they couldn’t just dim the lights or turn them off,” Camille said.

Attendees said there was confusion about when and how the food would be served. Finally they were told to sit down and they would be served.

“But there were literally only two servers… and there was absolutely no way to reach everyone,” Camille said. “It would be impossible.”

Those lucky enough to get a plate at some point said they received undercooked poultry, certainly not a meal fit for kings.

“There was blood in the chicken,” Camille said.

After dinner, she and others noticed a strange addition to the ballroom – a pole.

“To our surprise, an exotic dancer, almost naked, danced in our Bridgerton ballroom,” Camille said.

Another participant, Ashlyn Cook, is helping bring together those who say they've been scammed in hopes of filing a class action lawsuit. But, she said, it has been challenging so far.

“I have now called 10 attorneys who have either been turned away or would not do this type of class action,” she said in a Facebook post. “Today a lawyer told me everything is so promising but he has no idea if any of us would get any money back because no one knows if the LLC had assets or insurance (sic) making us a risky case .”

Legal action imminent?

Meanwhile, the real estate and development company that owns and operates Harmonie Club said it had nothing to do with the company that brought the event to Detroit.

In emailed comments to The Detroit News, Roger Basmajian, Basco's president and CEO, said his company is “in no way affiliated with the promoters and organizations that use our venue for events such as those run by Uncle & Me LLC and Chelsea Beard rent the organized Bridgerton Ball”.

He said Basco offers support such as back-of-house facilities as well as janitorial and security services, but “the planning, programming and execution of the actual events is handled by the venue tenants, event organizers and their teams.”

“We are very disappointed with the organizers of this event and their mistreatment of guests,” Basmajian added. “We are currently evaluating our screening procedures to prevent such events from occurring at our facility in the future, as well as any legal remedies we may have against the organizers of this event.”

Uncle & Me LLC did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The company's website also appears to be offline and its Facebook page has been devoid of posts since the Aug. 24 announcement that the Bridgerton-themed ball had been postponed and its location relocated.

If there's one positive thing for fans of the TV series, it's the camaraderie – or some might call it trauma bonding – that has developed from it. A Facebook group, “Bridgerton Ball Scam – Detroit,” now has nearly 1,000 members, with participants sharing their stories and updates on the legal process.

“Detroit clearly showed up and showed up and really went all in like we would have,” Camille said, but “the event didn’t match anyone’s energy at all.”

[email protected]

@Max_DetroitNews

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