Current:Home > FinanceLance Bass, Robin Thicke, more went to this massive billionaire wedding. The internet was enraged. -Apex Capital Strategies
Lance Bass, Robin Thicke, more went to this massive billionaire wedding. The internet was enraged.
View
Date:2025-04-18 00:43:58
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! (231)
Related
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- The meaningful reason Travis Kelce wears a No. 87 jersey
- Georgia governor signs bill that would define antisemitism in state law
- How Heidi Klum Reacted After Daughter Leni Found Her Sex Closet
- Intellectuals vs. The Internet
- Parents of OnlyFans model charged with murder arrested on evidence-tampering charges: Report
- Alec Baldwin pleads not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charge in fatal film set shooting
- New Mexico will not charge police officers who fatally shot man at wrong address
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- Everything to know about the Kansas City Chiefs before Super Bowl 2024
Ranking
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- It’s called ‘cozy cardio.’ In a world seeking comfort, some see a happier mode of exercise
- More Americans apply for unemployment benefits but layoffs still historically low
- Ole Miss player DeSanto Rollins' lawsuit against football coach Lane Kiffin dismissed
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- NBA stars serious about joining US men's basketball team for 2024 Paris Olympics
- The Best French Pharmacy Skincare Products That Are the Crème de la Crème
- Nicole Snooki Polizzi's Body Positivity Message Will Inspire Your Wellness Journey
Recommendation
Average rate on 30
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Star Kyle Richards Shares Must-Haves To Elevate Your Fitness
Justin Timberlake Wants to Apologize to “Absolutely F--king Nobody” Amid Britney Spears Backlash
Lawmaker resigns shortly before Arizona House was to vote on expelling her
Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
How Heidi Klum Reacted After Daughter Leni Found Her Sex Closet
Usher Clarifies Rumor He Was Beyoncé’s Nanny During Their Younger Years
Larry David addresses controversial FTX 2022 Super Bowl commercial: Like an idiot, I did it