Ricky Gervais says he's 'heartbroken' that fans who paid hundreds of pounds for tickets to see him live were unable to get into the show. Gig-goers said they were refused entry to his performance at the York Barbican on Wednesday night because they purchased their tickets from reseller site Viagogo.
The venue reportedly told fans they were only accepting tickets that were purchased from official selling site Ticketmaster. Fans of the Afterlife star said that after getting to the front of the normal queue, they were denied entry and told to join a queue to the box office.
More than 150 people are said to have joined that queue but when they got to the front, they were given a piece of paper stating the venue was only accepting Ticketmaster tickets. Andy Forman, 40, was one of the many fans who was not allowed in, despite having paid £206 for two tickets.
He has described his experience as a 'complete sham' and said the staff treated everyone in the queue 'like criminals' who were trying to 'con' the workers. Andy said: "It was a complete sham.
"We purchased tickets through Viagogo for my wife's Christmas present at £206 for two tickets. The Ticketmaster official tickets arrived on the app with a valid QR code so didn't think we would have any problems getting in and it was my first time using Viagogo.
"We travelled 50 miles, booked a hotel and took the day off so we could enjoy the evening and have a few drinks. We arrived at 6.30pm for a 7.30pm start, the queues had already begun to form and it took 15-20 mins to get to the front.
"Once we got to the front we were met with rude staff telling us this queue is only for Ticketmaster customers. We had to provide proof they were purchased via Ticketmaster on the actual app.
"We were then directed to the box office queue and by this point there were maybe 150 plus people in the same queue all with the same issue and more people joining every minute. After roughly 30 mins we got to the front and were handed a piece of paper stating they were not accepting Viagogo tickets or any 3rd party re sale tickets.
"We were all treated like criminals like we were trying to con them. To make things worse our friends went the day before with Viagogo ticket and got in no problems."
The comedian has hit back at the venue, who supposedly told fans that it was Ricky's team that made the decision to not let them in. Gervais said he only knew about what happened because of Twitter, and that Live Nation, who promoted the event, are investigating what happened.
He tweeted: "I've sent all this to the promotor at Live Nation and he is looking into it. I have no idea why this has happened tonight. First I knew about it was on Twitter."
The Office star also said it was 'heartbreaking' as everyone who turned up was a 'genuine fan'. Ricky said: "Everyone who turned up, with or without a real ticket, is a genuine fan. That's what is so heartbreaking."
A Viagogo spokesman said: “We were shocked to hear that fans were turned away from Ricky Gervais’ performance at the York Barbican just because their tickets were purchased through viagogo. As a business whose entire mission is to get people into events safely and securely, we view this kind of anti-consumer behaviour as totally unacceptable. Customers should never be used as a casualty in an attempt to control ticket sales.
“It is perfectly legal to pass on, sell or give tickets to other people. Turning people away at the door who’ve bought legitimate tickets just because you disagree with ticket resale is an abuse of consumer freedom. Customers should be allowed the choice and flexibility to use a resale website if they want to, and this basic right should be protected.
“Any viagogo ticket holder that was denied entry to this event will be provided with a full refund in line with our guarantee, which ensures all buyers will get in the door or their money back.”
