The Ticketmaster hate train on social media may seem like a classic case of monkey see, monkey do to some, but to others, this disdain has been brewing for years. From quietly changing their refund policy, accusations of inflating ticket prices, and allegations of colluding with ticket scalpers, the live event ticket conglomerate has justifiably earned itself a few hundred thousand angry patrons.
While other entertainers have remained quiet or even sided with the company (see Bruce Springsteen), pop superstar Taylor Swift, her longtime producer Jack Antonoff, and country singer Zach Bryan have vocalized their displeasure. As one of the highest-selling and most followed musicians, Swift and her millions of fans’ (Swifties) anger sparked enough of a response online to cause the United States Senate Committee to hold a formal hearing about the monopoly Ticketmaster owns over live events and whether or not it was time to do something about it legally.
Other countries like Mexico (thanks to a Bad Bunny ticketing debacle) and Canada have already hit the company with fines and a class-action lawsuit, so all eyes are on the United States to see what legal punishment they implement. But while we wait for the decision, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert decided to turn the hearing into a mock commercial on behalf of the company that is equal part enraging (because, you know, capitalism) and hilarious.
Watch the video above.