Despite a promise of “big crowds,” the first event featuring the joint speaking tour of former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly and former President Donald Trump saw a lot of empty seats, according to reports and observers.
The first date of the tour was held at the FLA Live Arena, home of the Florida Panthers NHL team. Tickets were $138 after fees.
“Many seats remained empty in the cavernous arena,” the Sun-Sentinel reported. “The top-level was closed, and ticket buyers were ‘upgraded’ to the lower bowl.”
From The Daily Beast:
In June, shortly after tickets became available for the five speaking engagements, Politico reported that the events were not selling as fast as expected, especially in comparison to other events scheduled at the same arenas. At the time, O’Reilly responded by threatening the Politico reporter: “You put one word in there that’s not true, I’ll sue your ass off and you can quote me on that. You’re just a hatchet man and that’s what you are,” he said.
This should give you an idea- I don’t have an estimate. Each person paid $138 or more – some people paid thousands for VIP access. pic.twitter.com/i43Zr2FB5h
— Brittany Wallman (@BrittanyWallman) December 12, 2021
On Sunday afternoon, the duo’s second gathering at The Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, home to the Orlando Magic basketball team, similarly did not sell out. One video posted to Twitter showed a sparsely attended event with the highest seating deck relatively empty.
