Ticketmaster Mexico apologized to Bad Bunny fans after they were left stranded outside his sold-out concert at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Friday night after security claimed that countless people had fake tickets.
In a statement posted on Twitter by Ticketmaster Mexico, the company apologized to fans who were waiting to see the Puerto Rican superstar, claiming that an “unprecedented” number of false tickets overwhelmed their system, which generated much confusion and complicated entry for fans with legitimate tickets.
According to the statement, legitimate ticket holders who were unable to enter the stadium will be issued a full refund.
In a separate statement, Estadio Azteca said the incident was out of the ordinary and blamed Ticketmaster for the duplicated and false tickets.
Estadio Azteca added that it canceled all tickets to “guarantee the safety” of everyone who was already inside the stadium.
Valeria Carrillo, who was denied entry to the stadium, told Billboard she paid 9,000 pesos (more than $450) on Ticketmaster, only to have security tell her the tickets she bought were fake.
“I didn’t come all the way from Isla Mujeres to have this happen to me!” she told Billboard Español.
Mexico’s federal consumer attorney, Ricardo Sheffield, said that the Profeco, Mexico’s consumer protection agency, had already requested a report from Ticketmaster to prevent further ticket fraud.
La @Profeco ya solicitó un informe a @Ticketmaster_Me sobre el problema con los boletos de acceso al concierto de Bad Bunny en el Estadio Azteca. Pedimos a los consumidores afectados que formalicen sus quejas para atenderlas en los términos de la ley. Tel. 55-5568-8722
A representative for Bad Bunny didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from BuzzFeed News.
Estadio Azteca was the last stop on Bad Bunny’s El Último Tour del Mundo tour, and Friday was the first of two shows there. With a capacity of 87,000 people, it’s the largest stadium in Latin America.
This incident came a month after Ticketmaster had to cancel the public ticket sale for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour due to “extraordinarily high demands.” The incident sparked criticism from not just fans but also US lawmakers. A Senate committee is expected to hold a hearing soon on whether a lack of competition in the ticketing industry violates US antitrust regulations and hurts consumers.