Several Drag Queens, as well as YouTuber “JakeYonceTV”, have exposed an apparent online scam company selling tickets to UK RuPaul fans for fake events.
‘Werk Presents’ are a Twitter account that have branded themselves as a promotional company selling tickets for UK based drag events headlined by some of the RuPaul’s Drag Race queens.
Werk Presents reached out to several Ru Girls that had not yet met their UK fans and proposed organising events in cities such as Birmingham and Manchester. Among the Queens that were contacted to headline these events were Sonique, Scarlet Envy and Ginger Minj.
Werk Presents set up an Eventbrite page on which they sold tickets for the event as well as VIP packages. The page claimed that all venues were accessible and anyone over the age of 14 could attend.
Red flags were raised when Werk Presents claimed that the Manchester event would take place at The Comedy Store, but a fan noticed that no drag events were scheduled on the comedy store website.
The fan tweeted to Werk Presents, saying: “I contacted @ComedyStoreMCR as I couldn’t see any of the queens you have booked there @ScarletEnvyNYC @xoSonique on the website and there were other events scheduled. They’ve stated they don’t have these booked for their venue? Can you provide clarity?”
Shortly after, the Eventbrite page disappeared, further convincing fans that the advertised events were a scam.
Werk Presents replied to the fan, claiming they had simply changed venues.
“Waiting on contracts to be signed before information is released. Can’t do anything without that,” the page tweeted in response. However, Werk Presents had already claimed to have booked the Queens and began selling tickets.
The Comedy Store wrote “These events are not, and never were, being held at our venue. The only conversation was a very brief enquiry into availability, to which we explained clearly we are not available on these dates. We have our own shows here those nights. Please DO NOT buy tickets for this event.”
Sonique exposed the scam on her Twitter account. “I’m sorry to say but I will NOT be coming to Manchester. Please don’t buy tickets from “WERK” they are taking peoples money using my name. We have no contract with them. I apologise and I will try to see you guys soon.”
Scarlet Envy quote tweeted Sonique’s post, saying: “SAME”.
Some fans have been able to get refunded by Eventbrite. Those who have contacted Werk Presents directly for clarity or refund have not yet heard anything in response.
© 2019 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
Support GCN
GCN has been a vital, free-of-charge information service for Ireland’s LGBTQ+ community since 1988.
During this global COVID pandemic, we like many other organisations have been impacted greatly in the way we can do business and produce. This means a temporary pause to our print publication and live events and so now more than ever we need your help to continue providing this community resource digitally.
GCN is a registered charity with a not-for-profit business model and we need your support. If you value having an independent LGBTQ+ media in Ireland, you can help from as little as €1.99 per month. Support Ireland’s free, independent LGBTQ+ media.
comments. Please sign in to comment.