"Hundreds calling me the most awful names": Glasgow Willy Wonka event organiser Billy Coull says his life has been "ruined" after the failed exhibit

Billy Coull, the director of House of Illuminati, which organized the recent Willy’s Chocolate Experience event, has finally spoken up on all the backlash that the event received. In an interview with Channel 5, he expressed what he went through after the event, as he stated that his “life is ruined.”

Billy Coull said:

“My life is ruined. I was hoping for an event that would be joyful and happy. I wanted people to experience happiness. I was getting hundreds and hundreds calling me the most awful names saying I’m a villain, I’m a horrific dad, I’m better off dead, I should kill myself. I was devastated and I was sick to the pit of my tummy, I had a whole host of emotions.”

He also exclaimed that he had lost his partner and close friends because of the whole controversy. Billy Coull stated that he was “made out to be the face of all evil.”

The event took place in Glasgow, Scotland in February 2024. The event was supposed to be a family experience, however, it soon turned out to be a nightmare for Billy Coull and his company, as many were upset with the outcome.

The attendees of the event found it to be poorly decorated, with less amount of sweets. All of the chaos during the first few hours led to the closure of the two-day event in just half a day.

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“I am not a scam artist”: Billy Coull expressed what he went through as many parents demanded refunds after the event

As many parents complained about there being no chocolates, the actors being not dressed properly, and the venue also not being decorated appropriately, Billy Coull found himself in deep waters as many demanded refunds, especially after the event closed in just half a day.

Billy now claimed that he is refunding everyone’s money, as he stated in the interview:

“I am not a scam artist, I am not a con man or anything like that. I have gone through the transactions individually, they are still ongoing. If people haven’t received a refund, I have gone through many emails and said to people if you’ve not had your refund, contact your bank as they may have processes in place to be able to help. I’ve genuinely done what I can.”

Many parents and children also stated that the lines of the actors sounded AI-generated, however, Billy claimed that he had run through all the scripts himself. During the interview, Billy Coull also talked about dealing with angry parents, as he said:

“I did not even see where the anger had come from. Before long I was engulfed with angry parents, it was more like a mob mentality. It was absolute carnage and at that point, I was like OK enough is enough, I need to shut this down.”

He stated that he never wanted to “see the children being upset by frustrated parents.” However, after attendees were left outraged as they were expecting to witness a “whimsical experience,” hateful messages started spreading on social media too.

On the other hand, after the interview, many have now started sympathising with Billy, as his apology and interview went viral.