Ticketmaster has apologized to a disabled mother after the ticketing company denied her the opportunity to buy enough tickets to see Taylor Swift’s Cardiff concerts with her daughters.
According to BBC, Cat Dafydd — who uses a wheelchair following a spinal cord injury — was told by Ticketmaster that she could only buy one accessible ticket and one complimentary ticket to see the “Cruel Summer” singer. Able-bodied fans, on the other hand, could buy up to four tickets for the gig.
“I can’t take my daughters, but if I didn’t have a disability I would be able to,” Dafydd said. “It made me feel, as a disabled person, as if I was worth less than anyone else.”
In order to ensure that she could see the show with both of her daughters, Dafydd opted to see Swift’s in Lyon, France by purchasing £1,800 hospitality tickets through another website. While they were still able to obtain tickets for the show, Dafydd’s 11-year-old daughter Elliw told the publication that traveling to France would put more pressure on her mom, noting that the day before the concert, “my mum will probably be in a lot of pain and will have to to lie down on the bed.”
“Being disabled has cost me so much more in order to just have a wonderful experience with my children that other people can have really easily,” Dafydd said.
Dafydd complained about the company’s accessibility policy in a letter to Ticketmaster in June 2023, however, the letter went unanswered. The ticketing giant responded, however, after receiving a request for comment from the BBC — and offered Dafydd three complimentary tickets to the Cardiff concert. The company told BBC the situation was “not handled according to standards we have set for ourselves.”
“We take accessibility very seriously and always work with venues and promoters to accommodate requests wherever possible,” Ticketmaster UK managing director Andrew Parsons said in a statement.”We apologise to Ms Dafydd and are pleased that the situation has now been resolved.”
Dafydd’s situation showcases the industry’s lack of accessibility options. Disability Wales’ Erin Williams told the publication that many people are “put off from being able to go to these shows because of the inequality and barriers that exist.”
“It’s very unfair when non-disabled people can buy tickets in a few simple clicks under a couple of minutes, when it can take hours for disabled people,” Williams said.
