The “immersive” Willy Wonka experience was not what its organizing company promoted, House of the Illuminati (HOI). “We apologize for what happened and will refund the full amount of the tickets to all people who purchased them,” the company announced after embarrassing images of the event went viral.
The experience was a total fiasco: there wasn’t even any chocolate.
Willy’s chocolate experience was an event held on February 24th in Glasgow, Scotland, in homage to the famous novel by Roald Dahl “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and its film adaptations.
According to HOI, in the Box-Hub space there would be “chocolate fountains, Oompa-Loompa shows and interactive experiences inspired by the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory universe.”
The sales images, all created with artificial intelligence (like those of the rest of the events promoted on the HOI website), and a ticket costing up to 44 euros promised an unforgettable experience.
But because the reality did not live up to what was promised, the company was accused of fraudulent advertising and some parents who were present at the event with their children called the police to cancel the experience and refund the money spent .
One of the most viral photos about the failed experience.The organization, aware of the disaster, stopped the show before the end of the first day. The aborted Willy’s Chocolate Experience was supposed to take place on February 24 and 25 and there was no longer even a trace of it on the Illuminati website.
Word of the organizer
Now, Billy Coulmain organizer of the event, gave an interview to Canale 5 where he talks about the nightmare he has been living since the events happened.
“my life is ruined. I lost my friends. I lost the love of my life. They made me the face of all evil and, really, that’s not the case,” Coull says on the verge of tears.
Bill Coull, the event organizer.Since photos of the event went viral, he has received “hundreds and hundreds” of messages haters criticizing his work.
In the interview, Coull says that although he was very troubled by the production problems at the time, “I believed I could carry on.”
“The last thing I wanted to see was the kids getting angry.. I was hoping for an event that was joyful and happy. “I wanted people to experience happiness,” she says.
This was the Wonka experience.Background that complicates it
This is not the first time Coull has been involved in a controversy of this kind. In the past he had been accused of publishing and selling books written with artificial intelligence and of canceling a charity event after receiving dozens of toys to donate.
In 2021, as the coronavirus pandemic was drawing to a close, Coull and two colleagues organized a Christmas gathering in Pollok, Scotland, which never took place. They would set up a Santa’s grotto to bring gifts to needy children.
They sent out the call, received donations and shortly before the event They canceled it due to the increase in omicron cases.
“We decided that having too many people coming and going to see Santa Claus would be a risk we didn’t want to take. The main reason is to protect ourselves, the users of our services and the wider community,” Coull said at the time.
Regarding questions he received for receiving donations for an event that didn’t exist, Coull explained: “Some people on social media have questioned us and our integrity as an organization, asking about gifts as if we had kept them to ourselves themselves. “
Speaking to the Glasgow Times, Coull hinted that the donations would go to local nurseries and schools.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.