Current:Home > NewsLance Bass, Robin Thicke, more went to this massive billionaire wedding. The internet was enraged. -Visionary Growth Labs
Lance Bass, Robin Thicke, more went to this massive billionaire wedding. The internet was enraged.
View
Date:2025-04-18 23:57:40
A billionaire's luxury Egyptian wedding has gone viral − and not in a good way.
Real estate broker and Bravo star Ryan Serhant shared an inside look at his experience attending the lavish nuptials of Bilt Rewards CEO Ankur Jain and former WWE wrestler Erika Hammond in a TikTok posted Wednesday. The video has been viewed 3.5 million times and inspired heavy backlash in the comments.
Experts say the rich and famous should expect to stoke ire when they flaunt their opulence and that the strong reactions point to a deeper frustration the average person is feeling toward inflation, inequality and other economic issues.
"A lot of people are feeling like they're stuck and they are living week-to-week, and people are feeling like they're not sure how they can make a difference," psychotherapist Stephanie Sarkis previously told USA TODAY. "Those feelings can be directed toward a person, especially when people don't feel like they have a voice or their voice has been blocked."
Why did this billionaire's wedding strike such a nerve?
Jain, who has a net worth of $1.2 billion according to Forbes, and Hammond seemed to spare no expense for their wedding.
The four-day spectacle featured a performance by acclaimed violinist Lindsey Stirling, a private tour of the pyramids and a special event at the Grand Egyptian Museum, which isn't yet fully open to the public. Not to mention the couple arrived late to their own festivities, Serhant says, after they got "stuck on safari in South Africa."
That doesn't even cover the wedding day itself, which involved four different locations: one for the ceremony, one for the reception, one for dinner and one for the party. Among the celebrity attendees were Lance Bass, who took the mic to sing NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye," and Robin Thicke, who also gave a surprise performance.
"Literally will go down as one of the most insane things of my entire life," Serhant says at the end of the video. "I have no idea what this wedding costs. If you have any guess, let me know in the comments, and thanks for coming along."
More:Alyssa Milano's GoFundMe post made people furious. Was the anger misplaced?
Commenters didn't seem to care about guessing the cost; but they did have a lot to share about how their own lives are going by comparison.
"I don't even have health insurance but that's cool," one person wrote. "I sold my couch to pay for food and gas," another wrote. "I just got a 47K hospital bill and no job because of surgery but that's pretty cool!" wrote another.
Erik Anderson, a licensed marriage and family therapist, says there's multiple reasons why people have such a negative view of this wedding, the primary being the wedding serves as a blunt reminder of how different life is for the mega-wealthy.
Many young people today, he says, are grappling with economic uncertainty and the feeling they were born in a situation in which the odds were stacked against them to succeed.
"One thing that's a major driver of people's resentment is the feeling that people are not going to be better off than their parents," Anderson says. "We kind of get into the psychology of comparison and how people measure themselves against other people in their community, including saying, 'Am I going to be better off than my parents or worse off than my parents?' "
Is anyone really OK right now?What Netflix’s ‘Beef’ can teach us about all-encompassing rage
This psychology of comparison, he says, also extends to other people, like Jain and Hammond. Their wedding in particular has struck a nerve, Anderson says, because it also involves the rich renting out exclusive access to things like the pyramids that are otherwise open to the general public.
"I think it really created a symbolic representation of, 'We are taking and then no one else can have, and it also makes us feel special for no one else to be able to have it,' " Anderson says.
When this anger combines with the anonymity afforded by the internet, backlash is almost inevitable, Sarkis previously told USA TODAY.
What our anger says about us
Most people in America face financial burdens, which contribute to mental health problems, Anderson says. The comments on this video, he adds, show this.
"Poverty itself can be a stressor," he says. "We essentially see that wellbeing correlates with income. So, basically, the larger the middle class, the more people there are who have a high level of wellbeing, and the smaller the middle class, the lower the wellbeing in the average population."
More:Conjoined twins Abby, Brittany Hensel back in spotlight after wedding speculation. It's gone too far.
Sarkis previously told USA TODAY it's important to take stock of your feelings when you see a video like this and try and see what's really behind them. You might find you're mad at something much bigger than Jain, Hammond or any particular individual.
"We can have a variety of feelings that come through that we don't necessarily take accountability for," she said. "And we really need to look at what is it that we're angry about, and is there anything we can do to change it?"
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- Maurice Hines, tap-dancing icon and 'The Cotton Club' star, dies at 80
- Are banks, post offices, UPS and FedEx open on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day?
- Resolved: To keep making New Year's resolutions
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- 'Our expectations fell very short': Dolphins in tough spot as division crown hangs in balance
- Taliban say security forces killed dozens of Tajiks, Pakistanis involved in attacks in Afghanistan
- 'Our expectations fell very short': Dolphins in tough spot as division crown hangs in balance
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- Not all New Year's Eve parties are loud and crowded. 'Sensory-friendly' events explained.
Ranking
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Tyler, dog who comforted kids amid pandemic, is retiring. Those are big paws to fill
- NFC playoff picture: San Francisco 49ers clinch home-field advantage
- Judge allows new court in Mississippi’s majority-Black capital, rejecting NAACP request to stop it
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- Nick Saban knew what these Alabama players needed most this year: His belief in them
- Dying in the Fields as Temperatures Soar
- Putin lauds Russian unity in his New Year’s address as Ukraine war overshadows celebration
Recommendation
Small twin
Ole Miss staffer posted fake Penn State player quote from fake account before Peach Bowl
Biden fast-tracks work authorization for migrants who cross legally
On New Year’s Eve, DeSantis urges crowd to defy odds and help him ‘win the Iowa caucuses’
Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
Putin lauds Russian unity in his New Year’s address as Ukraine war overshadows celebration
Gloria Trevi says she was a 'prisoner' of former manager Sergio Andrade in new lawsuit
Kyler Murray throws 3 TD passes as Cardinals rally past Eagles, disrupt Philly’s playoff path