A makeup launch for influencer Salish Matter at American Dream mall in New Jersey descended into chaos, forcing police to shut the event down early as thousands of fans packed the venue.
Salish Matter, a 15-year-old social media star with over 4.5 million Instagram followers, was set to debut her new makeup line Sincerely Yours at the American Dream mall in New Jersey on September 6. Tickets were made available in advance, with fans expecting a meet-and-greet and exclusive merchandise.
But once the event began, attendees said tickets were not scanned, crowd control collapsed, and fans were left unable to see or meet the influencer.
Videos from the event showed a mob of people flooding the multi-level shopping center. One TikTok clip described the scene as “completely unorganized, unsafe,” with another attendee writing, “We signed up, got tickets and they were never scanned… She came out briefly and we could barely see her.”
“Chaotic” influencer mall event shut down by police
According to Salish’s father, Jordan Matter, three times as many people as expected arrived, prompting state police to step in and shut the stage down. Both he and Salish were escorted out of the mall for safety concerns.
“They shut down our stage show early, and then would not allow either me or my daughter to go back out into the crowd for safety concerns.” Matter told PEOPLE. “It was truly upsetting… We had planned to stay late at the mall if necessary to say ‘hi’ to everybody, but instead we were removed from the mall by state police at 3 p.m.”
Fans took to social media to share frustration, with some calling the tickets “pointless” and saying they felt deceived. Despite the backlash, Salish later posted on Instagram about the experience, writing: “Today was so insane! It was incredible seeing all of you, just wish I could’ve met everyone.” In the video, Salish claimed over 80,000 people were in attendance.
American Dream mall later released a statement calling the turnout “incredible” and noting it was one of the largest events they had ever hosted.
