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Fans upset over royal disaster at “Bridgerton” ball in Detroit
(CBS DETROIT) – Attendees of Sunday evening’s rescheduled “Bridgerton” ball at Harmonie Club in Detroit are airing their frustrations online, claiming the event didn’t live up to expectations.
Fans of the TV show “Bridgerton” already expressed some frustrations when the event was rescheduled from August to this past Sunday after the original venue, Castle Hall, canceled their contract with organizers due to safety concerns. Those who ended up attending the event at the Harmonie Club this weekend are calling it a “royal disaster.”
The event was originally planned to host 3,000 guests, with tickets ranging between $150 and $1,000. Unable to get a refund, many still attended the rescheduled event even if they were reluctant to do so.
“We didn’t actually get an email saying the event was canceled, so we actually showed up all dressed up and everything,” said Seana Schade, who attended the ball.
Schade said she only stayed for about an hour after seeing the reality of the event.
“Just because it was too hot and we obviously weren’t going to be getting any food or drinks,” she said.
Another attendee posted her immediate reaction to TikTok after the “ball” turned out to be a “bust.”
“Are we at the club or are we at a ball,” asked Nita Morton in her TikTok post.
Guests were promised live music, elegant backdrops and an immersion into the world of “Bridgerton.”
“This was the only person playing live music,” Morton said while showing a video of a single violinist. “There were three floors — three floors. I saw her maybe like twice throughout this whole time.
“Doesn’t this look like something your cousin had at her baby shower that they ran real quick to Family Dollar to get? Exactly.
“The caterers, look what they have on. And not to mention, these aren’t even the caterers. I don’t know where the caterers are.”
Adding to her disappointment, Morton says she spent an additional $600 on hair, makeup and her outfit.
“People spent hundreds of dollars, not just on their tickets, but on upkeep and making sure they look presentable for this ball themselves,” Morton said.
Morton said her requests for a refund are going unanswered as the promoters, Uncle N Me LLC, are staying true to their strict no-refund policy. She says she probably could have gotten into the venue without paying for one.
“They didn’t check my ticket,” she said. “They were not checking tickets. They allowed everyone to go in. I would rather keep all my money and throw it myself.
Morton said she estimates roughly half of the original 3,000 guests showed up, but like the case of Schade, many left quickly after realizing what they were really walking into.
CBS News Detroit reached out to Uncle N Me LLC and is awaiting a response.
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Wisconsin school shooter was in contact with California man plotting his own attack, court documents say
The shooter who killed a student and teacher at a religious school in Wisconsin brought two guns to the school and was in contact with a man in California whom authorities say was planning to attack a government building, according to authorities and court documents that became public Wednesday.
Police were still investigating why the 15-year-old student at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison shot and killed a fellow student and teacher on Monday before shooting herself, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told the Associated Press Wednesday. Two other students who were shot remained in critical condition on Wednesday.
A Southern California judge issued a restraining order Tuesday under California’s gun red flag law against a 20-year-old Carlsbad man. The order requires the man to turn his guns and ammunition into police within 48 hours unless an officer asks for them sooner because he poses an immediate danger to himself and others.
Carlsbad is located just north of San Diego.
According to the order, the man told FBI agents that he had been messaging Natalie Rupnow, the Wisconsin shooter, about attacking a government building with a gun and explosives. The order doesn’t say what building he had targeted or when he planned to launch his attack. It also doesn’t detail his interactions with Rupnow except to state that the man was plotting a mass shooting with her.
CBS’ San Diego affiliate KFMB-TV reported that law enforcement searched the man’s home Tuesday night after the order was signed by the judge.
Police, with the assistance of the FBI, were scouring online records and other resources and speaking with the shooter’s parents and classmates in an attempt to determine a motive for the shooting, Barnes told the AP.
Police don’t know if anyone was targeted in the attack or if the attack had been planned in advance, the chief said. Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.
“I do not know if if she planned it that day or if she planned it a week prior,” Barnes said. “To me, bringing a gun to school to hurt people is planning. And so we don’t know what the premeditation is.”
On a Madison city website providing details about the shooting, police disclosed Wednesday that two guns were found at the school, but only one was used in the shooting. A law enforcement source previously told CBS News the weapon used appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.
Barnes told the AP that he did not know how the suspected shooter obtained the guns and he declined to say who purchased them, citing the ongoing investigation.
No decisions have been made about whether Rupnow’s parents might be charged in relation to the shooting, but they have been cooperating, Barnes told the AP.
Abundant Life is a nondenominational Christian school that offers prekindergarten classes through high school. About 420 students attend the institution.
The Dan County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the two people killed Wednesday as 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara.
An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position with the school was unclear.
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