The Willy Wonka experience that went viral for all the wrong reasons is back, and this time it’s even creepier.
The shockingly bad event came to life last night in a dark warehouse in downtown Los Angeles, drawing a small crowd of onlookers who had paid $44 each to be there.
The group, who collectively called themselves ‘The Unknown’, went to great lengths to recreate the Glasgow event.
Kirsty Paterson, the actress who went viral for her painful portrayal of Oompa Loompa in the original, was the star attraction, and this time guests were treated to four jelly beans instead of just one.
Despite a well-stocked bar selling chocolate-covered magic mushrooms, the event failed to impress. Again.
She is back! Kirsty Paterson reprized her role as ‘sad Oompa Loompa’ from Glasgow’s Willy Wonka Experience, this time in a dark warehouse in Los Angeles.
Last night’s event in Los Angeles was based on the disastrous Glasgow original, sparsely decorated and understaffed.
“We wanted to be as faithful as possible to the original,” one of the anonymous organizers told DailyMail.com. ‘We thought there was genius in creating the Glasgow event.
“There’s a saying, ‘It’s so bad it’s good,’ and I think that’s really what we wanted to bring to light here.”
There was more alcohol available than chocolate at Sunday’s event and organizers were seen rushing in with bottles of liquor when the doors opened.
An energetic actor playing Uncle Joe, wearing an ill-fitting white wig, was rolling on a makeshift bed, shouting for his nephew Charlie.
Paterson cheered up his American fans and performed the Oompa Loompa dance.
Actress Kirsty Paterson looks unimpressed as she performs Oompa-Loompa experiments at the event in Glasgow in February.
Americans lined up to take photos with Paterson at the Hollywood event on Sunday.
One of the strangest attractions at Sunday’s Los Angeles event was an actor playing sleepy Uncle Joe. They carried him on a bed with wheels.
Paterson was joined by a cast of other deranged-looking Oompa Loompas carrying signs demanding “reparations.” He previously complained that Glasgow organizers were not paying him.
The Hollywood event wasn’t much more impressive than the original in Glasgow, but organizers say they intended it to be just as bad.
Some strange inflatable gummy bears were among the strange decorations in front of the stage.
This time, ticket holders were entitled to four jelly beans, three more than in the Glasgow disaster.
Another strange element at the Los Angeles event was an actor playing Uncle Joe in a makeshift bed that moved around.
The event in Los Angeles attracted a small crowd of spectators, many of whom said they were intrigued by the disaster in Scotland.
Los Angeles organizers also brought the creepy “mirror man” back to life. The original attraction (seen in Glasgow) was one of the scariest features of the event.
In true Los Angeles style, chocolate-covered magic mushrooms were sold at the event
Participants entering the incomplete warehouse were greeted with a purple Wonka sign and a short green carpet ending near a bar station.
The only cheerful decorations were the elaborate balloons and lights.
Two angry Oompa Loompas marched in unison carrying signs that read: “WE WANT OUR REPARATIONS” and “NO FUNDS, NO CHOCOLATE.”
There was only one candy vendor, but there were chocolate-covered magic mushrooms on the counter.
A DJ entertained the crowd and there were some musical acts at the end of the night.
Paterson was encouraged by fans who lined up to take selfies with her outside the warehouse.
Some of the Americans who attended the event did so with the sole intention of taking a photo with Paterson, an unlikely celebrity.
Two families who had bought tickets, apparently unaware of the Glasgow debacle, left within minutes of arriving.
Event organizers said they sold about 150 tickets to Sunday’s event, no doubt helped by the false claim that Timothée Chalamet, who recently played Wonka in a movie, would make a surprise appearance.
Instead, Chalamet’s “appearance” was on a birthday decoration poster that was taped to the warehouse wall.
Organizers said the Los Angeles event was endorsed by artist Banksy, but offered no other evidence to support the claim.
The star of Sunday’s show was Paterson, who posed for photos with fans who had come to the event for the sole purpose of being photographed with the ‘sad oompa.’
“There are definitely elements here as bad as the Glasgow event with the decor, however the energy here has a lot more positivity,” he told DailyMail.com.
“It’s been life-changing,” Paterson said. ‘I am also a trained actress who was struggling. I feel very lucky with the people I’m meeting and networking with now!’ she said.
Rob Murray and Liz Schwartz said they each paid the $44 without knowing what kind of experience awaited them.
The original event was canceled midway after furious parents demanded refunds.
“I was doing a lot of research on the Glasgow event and it was really crazy how unplanned the event was,” Murray told DailyMail.com. ‘I know she’s a bit voyeuristic, but it was very entertaining.
‘I was really impressed with Kirsty because she became a meme for just one photo of her looking dejected. I really love how she was able to celebrate that failure, in a way. We can all make fun of and parody our own events based on that.’
One of the organizers who spoke to DailyMail.com said the idea of the Los Angeles version was to capitalize on how disastrous Glasgow was.
“This is a celebration of the absurd and a celebration of art,” he said. “While the Glasgow event itself caused some frustration between parents and children, it brought a lot of joy to everyone else around the world and we wanted people to take part in that.”
He added that while the Glasgow event used a free version of ChatGPT to generate a script for the Wonka actors, the Los Angeles team spent $20 on the enhanced version to generate a new script.
The Los Angeles version of the script came up with a new character called ‘Megan’, who would be Wonka’s new protégé.
‘No expense spared!’ he said, laughing.
Guests at Sunday’s event enjoyed musical acts and a DJ.