The woman in a viral photo taken at a ‘Willy Wonka experience’ so “shambolic” the police were called has broken her silence, saying she is embarrassed and remains unpaid.
Kirsty Paterson was among the actors hired for the Willy’s Chocolate Experience in Glasgow, Scotland, on Saturday.
What was sold as an “immersive and enchanting” event was anything but, according to parents, who have since sent social media into a frenzy after sharing photos and videos of what some said was a terrifying experience for their children.
Photos show the event was set in a large warehouse sparsely populated with props, including a small jumping castle, rainbow arch, pipes, toadstools, and AI-generated art that barely covered the walls.
Then there were the videos of children whimpering as a character wearing all black and a mask emerged from behind a mirror.
There was next to no chocolate or candy, according to reports.
And then there was Paterson, pictured in a now-viral photo wearing what a fellow actor described as a “hen night kind of sexy” Oompa-Loompa costume and looking unimpressed as she conducted ‘experiments’ with a setup that some online said looked akin to a drug lab.
Paterson told the MailOnline the event, which cost £35 ($68) a ticket and promised her £500 ($975) for two days of work, was a “complete and utter shambles”.
She said she was assigned to the jelly bean station and was meant to hand them to children, but they’d run out. After trying to make it “slightly exciting” for the kids, the embarrassment was too much and she walked out, she said.
“I was angry at the time because I felt like this is embarrassing for me, and I felt bad for the people coming in as well,” she said, according to the MailOnline.
The event was held at a large warehouse, sparsely populated with props. Source: Facebook / Maryanne McCormack
Paterson claimed she was yet to be paid and hadn’t been properly briefed on her role before starting her shift.
Jenny Fogarty, a co-Oompa-Loompa, told the British tabloid the costumes they wore “were like hen night kind of sexy” at the event that she labelled “horrendously embarrassing”.
She said they arrived for a dress rehearsal on Friday and were given a 15-page script that she believed was AI-generated.
“At one point they told us, ‘Just get rid of the script, there’s no show anymore, just have people walk through’, and I think that’s when it kind of fell off a cliff,” she told the MailOnline.
Police were called after attendees made complaints about Willy’s Chocolate Experience. Source: Facebook / Fiona Hughes
Paul Connell was the lead character, starring as Willy Wonka. He told the Independent the script was “AI-generated rubbish”.
“The bit that got me was where I had to say, ‘There is a man we don’t know his name. We know him as the Unknown. This Unknown is an evil chocolate maker who lives in the walls,'” he said of the black-clad, mask-wearing character caught on video emerging from behind a mirror.
He described chaotic scenes as he tried to leave the event, saying there was an “angry mob” at the door.
“People were shouting, people who put on the event were crying. There were arguments, people running around everywhere. The set had been trashed,” he told the Independent.
Police attended the event after complaints, The Guardian and BBC reported.
Kirsty Paterson (right) says she has not yet been paid for her work. Credit: X
And they didn’t stop there, with attendees so enraged that they established a Facebook group: House of Illuminati Scam. As of Thursday, it had 2,600 members.
In a widely-reported statement, event organisers House of Illuminati apologised for the “very stressful and frustrating day” and said that refunds may take up to 10 days to be received.
“Unfortunately, last minute we were let down in many areas of our event and tried our best to continue on and push through and now realise we probably should have cancelled first thing this morning instead,” the statement said, according to The Guardian.
SBS News has contacted House of Illuminati for comment.
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