Disorganized Detroit Bridgerton ball slammed as scam by attendees

When Tymesha Bland found out earlier this year that a ball inspired by one of her favorite TV shows, “Bridgerton,” was coming to Detroit, she knew she had to be there. 

In April, the Romulus resident spent $500 on tickets for herself and her husband, Daryl Bland, as well as another couple. 

The 28-year-old wanted to look elegant for the occasion just like the characters on the hit Netflix show, so she spent another $260 on a blue, glittery strapless gown and to have her hair styled in box braids.

As the big day approached, Bland imagined the ball would be filled with women and men in lavish dresses and suits, eating a decadent dinner and dancing the night away to a live orchestra. 

Those expectations fell woefully short. 

When she and Daryl arrived at the Harmonie Club in downtown Detroit Sept. 22 there was no one at the front doors checking tickets. The night only went downhill from there, she said, with cheap decorations, a shortage of food, a bar with no alcohol and entertainment that featured a lone violinist and an exotic dancer. 

“There were too many people, there was no water, no food,” Bland said. “They had bottles of water and little forks, cups and plastic plates. It wasn’t giving Bridgerton.” 

Now, Uncle and Me LLC and its co-owner, Chelsea Beard, are facing backlash from attendees and the threat of legal action over the bare-bones ball, which is making national headlines. Bland and others who feel duped by organizers are sharing their experiences on TikTok and Instagram. On Facebook, guests formed a “Bridgerton Ball Scam-Detroit” group, which has more than 900 members and are discussing the prospect of a class-action lawsuit. 

The Detroit event company is co-founded by Beard and her uncle, Jeremy Scott.

In an Instagram post on her personal page earlier this week, Beard apologized to guests who attended the ball and said she was working to address concerns and would be sending out an email with next steps. 

“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,” Beard wrote. “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.

“Your understanding and loyalty mean the world to us, and we are dedicated to making this right,” she wrote.

BridgeDetroit sent an email to Uncle and Me, as well as messages to Beard on social media but has not received a response. On Wednesday, the Uncle and Me website was deleted and the company is now going by the name UM Event Management Company, according to its Eventbrite page. 

The Detroit ball was not affiliated with “The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Experience,” sponsored by Netflix. That immersive experience has yet to visit the Motor City, but held events in Chicago, Minneapolis, New York and Atlanta. 

A representative for Mayor Mike Duggan’s office declined to comment on the private event.

In June, Beard and Scott seemed excited to bring a Bridgerton experience to Detroit during an interview with CBS Detroit (WWJ-TV). In addition to dinner and dancing, the two promised carriage rides, games and a $2,000 cash prize for best dressed. 

“Seeing people able to just lay their burdens down for a minute … and just enjoy themselves while looking their best, that is going to fill my heart up,” Scott told CBS at the time. 

But for Bland, the night was less than magical. She’s working with her bank to dispute charges made for the ball. Bland said Beard needs to apologize to the people hurt and reimburse them. 

“I’m a person of my word, so if I say I’m about to do something, I’m gonna do it,” Bland said. “So, everything she (Beard) promised and my money, I want back.” 

Dropping the ball 

When Uncle and Me scheduled the ball, the soiree had a different date and venue – Aug. 25 at the Castle Hall in Beacon Park. Bland said she received an email from Uncle and Me about the rescheduled date and change in venue the day before the ball was first supposed to take place. 

“Whoever had flown up here, driven up here from out of state; it was a waste of money for them,” she said. 

In an Aug. 24 Instagram post, Beard said Beacon Park canceled the event due to “unforeseen circumstances.” 

“This cancellation came after we had received approval from both the City of Detroit and the Fire Marshal,” Beard wrote in the August post. “In light of this, we have secured a new, larger venue that can comfortably accommodate all attendees and more.” 

Another ball attendee, Ebone Colbert, noted the original location for the event was the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, but that got canceled, too. 

The Redford resident first wanted to go to the Bridgerton-themed tea party Uncle and Me hosted in June at the Taylor Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. But it was sold out.

Instead, Colbert paid $250 for tickets for her and her husband RaJon Taylor, as well as an additional $30 to have professional pictures taken. But the photographer was far from professional, she said. Colbert said the chairs looked like the kind teens pose in for prom pictures and the photographer didn’t give any direction.

“Then we asked ‘How are we supposed to get the pictures?’ And he (the photographer) is like, ‘Oh, I gotta AirDrop it to you.’ I’ve never in my life heard a photographer say they have to AirDrop a picture. The pictures looked terrible. I think I was in the middle of a sentence for one, the lighting was overexposed and you can see the photographer in the picture taking the picture.” 

Colbert arrived at the event around 6 p.m. and said that she and her husband were supposed to receive valet parking, but Beard sent no instructions on how the process was going to work. The Colberts ended up parking in a garage for $30. There was a long line to get into the building, with guests waiting in the rain, Colbert said. And, like Bland, Colbert doesn’t recall seeing anyone scanning tickets. 

“You couldn’t tell who was supposed to be in VIP, who was supposed to be in general admission and I’m like, ‘that’s really weird, but we’ll just go and sit down and wait for dinner,’” she said. 

Colbert and Taylor did their share of waiting. Dinner was scheduled to be served at 6 p.m., but was pushed back to 7:30 p.m. She said it was close to 8 p.m. when people began lining up. Colbert thought the dinner would be buffet style, but her cousin told her that guests will be served at the table. 

“My cousin ended up getting back in line. She’s like, ‘Well, I’m gonna try to get some food some sort of way.’ When she brought it back to the table, it was one meatball, two pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes and a salad. It didn’t look like Bridgerton food. I was expecting quality, high class. It was none of that.” 

Colbert, who spent $300 on the event, said she filed a fraud report with Detroit police and is in the process of disputing her charges with American Express. Detroit police officials did not immediately say whether the department was investigating or if any reports were filed by event attendees. 

With a six-year-old son at home, Colbert said she was looking forward to having a fun night out. 

“I really like the show and I was able to get my husband to agree to dress up,” she said. “We only go out maybe two or three times a year because we don’t really have childcare like that. And then we spent so much money, not only on the tickets, but just getting dressed up for the event and getting ready for it.” 

Likewise, for Pedro Soto, the Bridgerton ball was supposed to be a nice night for he and his new wife, Kimberly Soto. 

The Sotos also faced a long wait for the food and limited entertainment. The Detroit couple stayed about four hours, with most of that time spent waiting in lines, Soto said. 

“Most of it was waiting in the line for food and the rest was just walking around trying to understand the concept,” he said. “For the price that they were charging, the quality wasn’t there.”