The gays reaction to the 'Willy Wonka' event that flopped hard has us CACKLING

It’s giving Fyre Festival!

An unofficial Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-themed event was held in Glasgow, Scotland this week with the title “Willy’s Chocolate Experience” — referencing the main character in the story, Willy Wonka, who was most recently brought to life by Timothée Chalamet in the 2023 musical film Wonka.

As reported by Entertainment Weekly, this was a “hastily thrown-together” event that, despite its name and theme, had zero connection to any holders of intellectual property (IP) attached to this franchise. The event had no connection to Roald Dahl (the author who wrote the original novel), Paramount Pictures (the studio that released the original Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory film starring Gene Wilder), or Warner Bros. Pictures (the studio that released 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film starring Johnny Depp and 2023’s Wonka starring Chalamet).

Quite the scandal, actually: Rolling Stone reports that this event was thrown by “a sketchy company called House of Illuminati” that featured “lavish, colorful AI-generated artwork used in promotional materials” on its website to advertise “Willy’s Chocolate Experience.” The report has also connected this company to an event organizer called Billy Coull, who has since taken down all his social media profiles.

Nonetheless, Rolling Stone alleges that Coull has been involved in a few other apparent schemes, such as running a potentially fake foodbank that claimed to feed thousands of families. Coull has also reportedly authored 16 novels, such as one titled Selling Innocence about human trafficking that includes themes like QAnon conspiracy and references Jeffrey Epstein. The publication notes that all 16 books were published in the summer of 2023 and have “AI-generated synopses.”

The creator of this event has reportedly issued an apology that reads, “I’m really shocked the event had fallen short of the expectations of people on paper. My vision of the artistic rendition of a well-known book didn’t come to fruition. For that, I am absolutely truly & utterly sorry.”

Between all of this background information about Coull and the abysmal disappointment of people who attended the “Willy’s Chocolate Experience,” customers are now requesting their money back (tickets sold for about $45) and activating their legal teams to fight against event organizers. And yet, in the midst of SO MUCH MESS, we’re also keeping up with the absolutely hilarious memes that are coming out of this flopped Willy Wonka event that’s making meme history books.

Scroll through to see some of the funniest reactions to the flopped “Willy Wonka Event” that went viral this week.