Some fans of YouTuber Tana Mongeau are so upset with the way TanaCon turned out, they're discussing a class-action lawsuit against the event's organizers.
TanaCon was initially created to rival VidCon— the annual convention for YouTube creators and fans — after Mongeau was upset with the limitations VidCon was imposing on her. She partnered with a production company called Good Times, and the two parties eventually set TanaCon on the same street and same weekend as VidCon. The convention advertised Mongeau and a number of appearances from other YouTube creators — and more importantly — free general admission tickets.
But when the day of TanaCon came, everything seemed to be a disaster. Nearly everyone appeared to have the $65 ticket option, causing some to question the validity of the free tickets; people waited in line for five hours in the heat and sun without food or water; the Marriott hotel was not at all big enough for the attendees; and the event was eventually canceled.
event? ripoff
meet n greets? non-existent
food & water? nope
lines? 7398302 feet long
weather? terrible
perks? nah
scam? YEP
— sadie 🦋 (@shooksadie) June 22, 2018
I wasted 150 dollars on #tanacon , it’s one hallway, one big concert room, and no activities. No creators are walking around like promised. We stood outside for 4 hours, just to be treated like animals. pic.twitter.com/WlgiSvHqFs
— 𝒦𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓈𝓎 (@Lovely_asf) June 22, 2018
“A gift bag worth more than quadruple the price of the whole ticket” “line skipping” “private meet & greets” righhht. @tanamongeau#tanaconpic.twitter.com/OlQUrrSspG
— ashley foster (@ashleyfoster09) June 22, 2018
Now, YouTuber Anamarie Olson is gathering defendants for a class-action lawsuit against Good Times. According to The Blast, she believes ticket holders should be given full refunds — including travel — and compensation for "mistreatment during the event."
"I started feeling less and less excited about the event because I had a feeling it would be very unorganized, but I hoped for the best," she told The Blast. "After waiting for about 5 hours in the sun, with no shade or water or food, a representative of Good Times made an announcement that the event was canceled for the day but would resume as scheduled Saturday with an additional location."
That never happened, though. As a result, she's currently in talks with the same firms suing Fyre Festival, and claims to have around 200 people in joining her in a lawsuit.
Popular YouTuber Shane Dawson is also unhappy. He was scheduled to make an appearance at the event and after it was canceled he called TanaCon the "worst decision I ever made." He released a documentary series to detail what specifically happened, and eventually revealed that Good Times' CEO signed a contract with a ticketing agent, Veeps, that would ultimately make Good Times responsible for any refunds. Those refunds are now estimated to be around $325,000.
Though the source of the money is currently unknown, the ticketing company announced on July 4 that refunds would be issued to those who reach out to Veeps.
YES! 🙌🏻 Heres how to get a #Tanacon REFUND! (in case u missed this email) thank u @veepsofficial for doing this. I’m still gonna work on more ways to make it up to everyone who travelled (special free meet ups in the next year) but for now, this is awesome! ❤️🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/UMs5fFjjLJ
— Shane Dawson (@shanedawson) July 4, 2018
No official suits have been filed as of yet.