HausofGaGaWV
On Saturday 10th July 2010, @HausofGaGaWV said:
This past week, from Tuesday to Friday, I was visiting New York City for the first time ever in my life with two of my friends Sara Wise and Michaela Williamson. I had never been so excited for something in my life, I've always dreamed of being able to visit the city and never thought it would actually happen.
Our original plan & reasoning for going to NYC was because Lady GaGa was performing for a free concert that was a part of the Summer Concert Series going on every Friday at NBC's The Today Show.
Let me just tell you what really went down at The Today Show.
Little monsters began lining up outside of Rockefeller Plaza late Wednesday evening before GaGa's early Friday morning performance. My friends and I arrived around 1pm to get our place in line and begin waiting all day and night in the streets of New York City.
While in line, we met so many great monsters who were SUCH dedicated fans. I always read things on Twitter about how little monsters love each other and think that it sounds so cheesy, but it's honestly so true. The people we met in line were so amazing and it was as if we had all known each other our whole lives.
Anyway, monsters came from all over the world JUST for this performance. Behind us were people from Puerto Rico & California and in front of us were monsters from South Africa & Washington.
I was in the very first section of monsters waiting in line for what was supposed to be a "free concert" at The Today Show. We were definitely within the first 30-40 monsters there.
Throughout the day, the press & media were all about the huge line and getting all of the little monsters really excited about waiting in line and GaGa's upcoming performance.
Rolling Stone, MTV News, The Today Show, and local news stations from New York City were covering the huge line that eventually consisted of around 20,000 monsters. Luckily, we got to be included in most of the press surrounding the monsters waiting in line.
Like all of the media & news outlets, the Rockfeller Plaza workers & security guards around the front of the line were getting us excited too. They had promised us that we would be able to see FOR SURE and that other monsters behind us would only be able to hear.
We made sure to ask numerous times that we would be able to see and that we would have good spots and they assured us that it was true.
However, there was no truth behind it whatsoever.
Although we had waited around 20 HOURS to see Lady GaGa perform live in Rockefeller Plaza for The Today Show, we were NOT the first group of people to be let in and by the time we all got in the vast majority of us were unable to see anything.
As it slowly became time to start letting people in, instead of letting GaGa's dedicated little monsters who gave up their time to be there, a strangely huge group of "VIP" ticket holders as well as people with fan passes & press passes were let in beforehand.
We were perfectly aware that there were going to be a decent amount of people let in before us with fan passes. What we were unaware of was that there would be around 150 of them.
We understood that there were a decent amount of fan passes given away and that each fan could bring a guest, but the majority of people they were letting in held "VIP" passes instead.
Within the crowd of "VIP" ticket holders that got in before us, there MIGHT have been 10 monsters who were dressed up and genuinely excited to see Lady GaGa.
Unfortunately, the majority of them consisted of people dressed in really expensive clothing including many Louis Vuitton and Coach purses over some women's shoulders.
These people who were let in before us literally just rolled out of bed, were able to get a shower and get all spiffy for The Today Show, and waited for maybe an hour to 30 minutes before they were let in. We waited 20 hours......seriously?
It would be different if there were a smaller amount of those people who were let in, but there were seriously a MASS amount of them that came out of nowhere and they were let in around 30 minutes before we were able to finally get in the plaza.
After we got to our spots, we realized that 95% of the little monsters had been caged off, as if we were being treated like zoo animals. We were at the very front row of the gate we were closed off with and had suddenly come to an extremely depressing realization that we were unable to see anything.
The 150-200 people that took over the front of the stage had already filled up all of the spots in front of us and were shielding the view of little monsters who gave up their entire day & all of their time to wait to see Lady GaGa.
Those people WERE NOT monsters. There were a select few of maybe 20 monsters who were actually let in with them, but everyone else acted as if they could careless about GaGa's concert. Nobody held up a monster paw, no one was screaming or knew the words to her songs. We were all doing the choreography to her songs and the "VIP" people in front of us were looking at us as if we were seriously caged in zoo animals.
I've never seen a group of extremely uninterested people at a concert before in my life. None of us understood why they made everything about the fans who had been waiting there all day long, yet none of us could see anything due to people with "VIP" passes.
We soon found out that some people actually PAID for these "VIP" tickets. This granted them access to the front of the stage. One person specifically said she bought her tickets at an auction and she paid around $2,000 for ONE. Isn't it supposed to be a "free concert" and for the fans?
Monsters soon became very unhappy and angry chants soon ensued such as "Monsters Got Screwed," "Monsters Can't See," and "Real Monsters Are in the Back." As we were shouting these things, the people in front of us continued with their condescending looks and many could even be seen dying of laughter at us as if we were peasants begging for money.
Many of them cried and were extremely let down by what happened. One moment specifically pissed me off more than ever.
Directly behind me was a 10 year old little girl who had been waiting all night and had to pee so badly that she was crying. We had witness "VIP" ticket holders in front of us leaving their spots in the front area and eventually coming back, realizing that they were able to take bathroom breaks or breaks for other reasons.
When we begged the security guards to let the little 10 year old girl go pee and come back, he informed us that if she got out of the line that she would lose her spot completely. All we had asked was that she was able to pee and come back, but he refused to let that happen. All he said to the girl's mother who needed to pee was "I'm not stopping you from letting the child pee." Yet if she went to pee, she wouldn't be able to come back to where she was (even though none of us could see as it is).
How is it that those with "VIP" passes were able to do whatever they wanted, yet Lady GaGa's biggest and most dedicated fans got a big "fuck you." The girl eventually had to get out of line and lose her place, so sad.
Anyway, as the chaotic concert continued, it became time for GaGa's performances to ensue. When she began her medley of "Someone to Watch Over Me / Bad Romance," all of the little monsters were going crazy.
The same however could not be said for the "VIP" ticket holders in front of us who had better spots. If you watch her performances back, you will be able to see that all of the people who are seen up front by the stage are EXTREMELY unenthusiastic and apathetic about the whole concert. Many could be seen texting and none of them were holding up monster paws or singing along to the songs because they didn't even know the words. It was the most boring crowd I've ever seen, especially since GaGa was performing the SHIT out of those songs.
We were all holding up our paws and doing the dance moves and singing as loudly as possible even though none of us could even see what was going on. While this was happening, the "VIP" people who had better spots than we did started glaring & staring at us again as if we were crazy people instead of ACTUALLY WATCHING THE CONCERT THEMSELVES SINCE WE'D DIE FOR THEIR SPOTS.
Monsters became angry and started doing anything they could to sneak into the front area. The security and police officers soon saw what was going on and started watching the area to make sure none of us got up there.
Soon after that, a little monster behind me starting having a seizure. I haven't seen many of those in my life and it was an extremely scary situation. I jumped on the bottom of the barricade guard rail and starting screaming for the police officers to get the EMS because of what was happening. It took FOREVER for them to finally come over with medical help for this monster who was having something serious happen to them because they were too busy with trying to NOT let us in the front area where all the rich people were taking our spots and not paying attention.
I've never seen a group of fans be treated so poorly in my life. Monsters got screwed by The Today Show and we all seriously felt SEGREGATED.
After all of this had happened and little monsters had waited over 20 hours to not able to see some really amazing performances, we soon found out that monsters we had waited in line with overheard a reporter who was in the front area saying that "The Today Show didn't want her fans up front because we were crazy, dirty, & sweaty from waiting in line all day." Are you fucking kidding me?
So basically, NBC wanted people who looked "television appropriate" instead of catering to her fans that they were obsessed with reporting about and obsessed with saying "over 20,000 fans are here" and blah blah blah. 95% of those people in the front section were NOT monsters and were instead rich people who paid for a spot or people who knew someone that worked at NBC. If these people who got in were actually real monsters who cared, we wouldn't be as pissed as we still are.
The Rockefeller Plaza security people guaranteed us that we would be able to see, however we were not. We were a part of the first 30 people in the line of over 20,000 and we waited for 20 hours and yet still could not see. Doesn't anyone else think that's extremely fucked up?
Basically, The Today Show and the people over at NBC could care fucking less about fans for the concert. They're much more concerned with having uninterested and unenthusiastic pretty / rich looking people up front for good television when monsters had waited forever just to have a decent spot to be able to see the performances.
I literally didn't know what happened with her performances until I watched it back on television. Yes, we were all really grateful that we got to be a part of Lady GaGa making history and were able to hear the performances...but we were promised we'd be able to see and were instead blocked by people who didn't wait and weren't real monsters.
I know I've said a lot, but I'm really upset with the way that Lady GaGa's little monsters were treated by The Today Show and I know I'm not alone in this because all of the people we had waited with and made friendships with felt the same way.
Little monsters really do love each other and we all bonded really well, the waiting in line was the best part of the whole situation. It's just upsetting that we all had been promised a spot where we'd have a good view and we were within the first 30-50 people out of 20,000 there and yet we couldn't see due to 200 "clean looking" people who didn't wait but maybe an hour or so.
Where's the logic behind letting people in who just got there when we've been waiting and dying to see her for basically an entire day.
I don't know if this will get around over the internet or eventually get to GaGa or anyone that matters, but I really think monsters should help spread the word about this because The Today Show is seriously a fucking joke.
Asiel Hardison (@asielhardison), one of Lady GaGa's main dancers, tweeted to my friend Sara (@swizzlekat) about the happenings of the concert and said:
"love 2 all real monstersJust know she felt u in her heart & could have not done that without your presence.we are always conected2u
@swizzlekat i feel so bad
@swizzlekat 2 B honest i did feel diffrent without our real monsters thereBut we made it through this junction and wont let them change us
@swizzlekat only a real monster can understand that.im glad friendship was made.monsters stick together!!! "
Now I just wish Lady GaGa would acknowledge the situation of how poorly her fans treated, especially since I know that she loves us so much. I know it's not her fault and she's nowhere near to blame because it was The Today Show and people at NBC who were making money off of the "VIP" tickets, but I just feel like since we were treated so horribly & segregated because we looked like real monsters instead of rich NYC people that we deserve some kind of recognition or acknowledgment.
And it's not as if The Today Show does this all of the time, we had talked to numerous people who had been to plenty of summer concerts there and said that they had never seen anything like it and that it was the worst they've ever seen any kind of fan be treated.
Lady GaGa says she loves her little monsters more than anything in the world and I believe that she does which is why I'm writing this because I want everyone to know, including her, how badly her monsters were treated and made feel unwelcome in a time and place where we should've felt more welcome than ever. Instead we were being glared at with condescending looks of people who weren't even real, hardcore fans like we were.
GaGa, your performances were absolutely amazing. We waited there forever to see them in person and were promised that we would be able to see but WE WERE NOT. I thank you anyway for being amazing, I'm just really sad that we didn't get to see it in your face, especially since they were so amazing. None of us seriously knew what happened until watching it back on TV. Really sad.
Fuck The Today Show and NBC, I won't ever support either again. Nobody deserved to be treated the way we were, especially since we were dedicated little monsters who just wanted to be excited about GaGa's performances and be able to see. Don't you think the performances would've looked so much better and had so much more energy if we were all up front and jumping and being excited instead of seeing apathetic people who were texting and didn't even know the words?
Anyway, that's all I have to say. I'm grateful we got to be there, I just think the way we were treated needs some sort of apology & acknowledgment so this is me trying to get it out there on the internet. Sorry it's huge, but a lot went down and it was fucking ridiculous how we were treated by the staff.
Short: http://tl.gd/2e6rfv
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