More Troubles for Ticketmaster as Hundreds of Furious Fans Turned Away from Bad Bunny Concert in Mexico Despite Having Tickets

Sarah RumpfDec 11th, 2022, 6:09 pm
 
bad bunny making faces

Images via Bad Bunny on Facebook.

Ticketmaster found itself the target of angry music fans yet again when hundreds of Bad Bunny fans were turned away from his sold-out concert in Mexico City after various ticket snafus.

Puerto Rican rapper and singer Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, better known as Bad Bunny, was named the Artist of the Year at the 2022 Apple Music Awards last month, and just wrapped his “World’s Hottest Tour” supporting his latest album Un Verano Sin Ti (“A Summer Without You”). Tickets for the stadium venues across the United States, Latin America, and Mexico quickly sold out.

The final two dates for the tour were at the Estadio Azteca stadium in Mexico’s capital city, on Friday Dec. 9 and Saturday Dec. 10.

According to Vulture’s Alejandra Gularte, fans attending the Friday show experienced a variety of problems with their tickets:

Bad Bunny’s concert in Mexico City on December 9 was not at capacity despite being a sold-out concert. Many fans camped out for days before Friday’s show to ensure they’d enter the venue on time. However, numerous fans were denied entry into the stadium for various reasons; the security claimed people had fake tickets, duplicated tickets, or canceled tickets. Some fans even had their tickets confiscated at check-in as security suggested they were using resold or counterfeit tickets, despite them buying their tickets directly from Ticketmaster.

Ticketmaster Mexico issued a statement claiming that “an unprecedented number of false tickets” had “generated confusion” and as a result, “some legitimate tickets were denied entry” (translation by CNN Español). The company apologized to fans who were unable to attend the concert and promised refunds.

Several unhappy fans posted videos on Twitter showing their tickets being scanned and not being allowed to enter the stadium.

https://twitter.com/tapia_britney/status/1601437675231522817?s=20&t=4_KBcoyHs5Z0jmK49mz3zQ

The ticket difficulties resulted in the stadium being visibly far below capacity, despite being a sold-out show, and fans denied entry crowding outside the stadium gates.

https://twitter.com/summerricochet/status/1601414407879557120?s=20&t=RbHl2O0ZCjWTOarLlE2mXg

https://twitter.com/summerricochet/status/1601433815922012160?s=20&t=RbHl2O0ZCjWTOarLlE2mXg

Ticketmaster’s Bad Bunny concert woes follow other recent negative press for the company, frequently criticized for its near-monopoly power over music concerts, especially after its merger with promoter LiveNation.

Bruce Springsteen fans were outraged this summer when Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing system” skyrocketed ticket prices, reportedly over $5,500 each for some floor seats. That debacle was then topped by the technological collapse of Ticketmaster’s online presales for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. Outraged Swifties have filed lawsuits against Ticketmaster and the Tennessee Attorney General is launching an investigation.

Tags:
Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law & Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Bluesky and Threads.