11 deaths linked to Paparazzi COVID-19 Las Vegas event
Paparazzi held a ten year anniversary celebration in Las Vegas last month.
Unofficial tracking on social media suggests it might have been a COVID-19 super-spreader event.
The verified attendee death tally currently sits at eleven.
Three days prior to Paparazzi’s event, Nevada issued an emergency order ‘requiring people … to wear masks in public indoor spaces, whether they’re vaccinated or not.’
This order applied to Las Vegas.
Photos posted on Paparazzi’s official Facebook page suggest that mask wearing was mostly adhered to in public spaces:
Attendees however removed masks and did not social distance when posing for photos, most of which appear to be in public areas.
Inside Papparazzi’s arena event, at which singer Pitbull performed, mask compliance went out the window.
Total attendees at Paparazzi’s event appear to number 15,000 to 20,000.
As documented by @themlmbossbabe on Instagram, shortly after the event attendees began reporting COVID-19 cases.
Over the following weeks cases COVID-19 cases among those who attended Paparazzi’s event climbed.
So too did the deaths.
At least one Paparazzi distributor has owned up to exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms prior to travelling to Vegas.
There are also unconfirmed reports of Paprazzi employees attending the event whilst infected:
While it’s easy to assume everyone at the event was careless, there are distributors who masked up and wore face shields.
Others spoke out in the ongoing aftermath;
Unfortunately those that spoke out were met with threats.
Others were given the “haterz” treatment;
That particular Paparazzi distributor would go on test positive for COVID-19 and wind up in an ICU on oxygen.
She infected her family, including two young children. The distributor has since returned home but requires 24/7 oxygen treatment.
Disturbingly, Paparazzi distributors appear to have been ordered “not to discuss” COVID-19 cases related to the event.
I wasn’t able to tie anything directly to Paparazzi corporate. This widely circulated message however was sent out by Paparazzi top-earner Earica Alexander Cole.
On Twitter Cole claims to be Paparazzi’s “highest ranked Elite Consultant”.
For their part Paparazzi has not publicly addressed the fallout of their event.
The company has thus far ignored the situation on its social media channels over the past month.
Probably going to lose friends over this post but what this company has done is making me completely sick to my stomach.
I cannot stand paparazzi anymore.For those of you who do not know, paparazzi is a mlm company that sells jewelry.
Normally the concept of an mlm should be enough to scare someone away. If not let’s talk because of the Federal Trade Commission has ALOT to say about them.
What’s really getting me upset is the nightmare that was the 2021 paparazzi convention.This was held in Las Vegas at the beginning of the month.
Las Vegas at that time and maybe still is a super spreader of the Delta Varient. [sic]
Most companies would offer a virtual option to keep people safe. Paparazzi did not. Most companies would say we would like to see proof of vaccination or a negative covid test two weeks prior. Paparazzi did not.
Most companies would have said if you are experiencing symptoms of covid, please do not come. Paparazzi, said if you don’t come there’s a $50 cancellation fee.
Here is the big one. Most companies would have followed both Town and State guidelines which at the time said wear a mask indoors at all times.. Paparazzi did not.
As I am sure you can guess from the statement above, a lot of people got sick. It was a spreader… no one can deny that.
As I write this post, 9 individuals who were both Paparazzi consultants/ spouses of consultants have died from covid they got at the convention.
Now here when a company has to make an important decision. People or profit. Paparazzi chose profit.
Consultants were asked by their upline and Paparazzi to remove all posts about them having covid to “protect the paparazzi brand”. Well the brand is changing the world then congrats.. you made it worse.
The final thing is that Paparazzi themselves knew everything they had to do to keep consultants safe and had a variety of options to do so. They chose rather to make money off the tickets and having their consultants purchase more inventory from them. (Classic sign of an mlm, no ethical job will have you pay for a convention and then make you buy more product from them… it’s a scam) over simple measures that maybe would have kept these people alive.. end of rant.
Unfriend me if you want. What that “company” (pyramid scheme) did was wrong.
–Author unknown, Reddit
Paprazzi hasn’t however been slow to delete distributor accounts of the deceased. This suggests the company has some idea of the scope of the infections their event is responsible for and is keeping track.
In the absence of support or even acknowledgement by Paparazzi, some distributors have taken to GoFundMe in desperation.
Publicly the total number of Paparazzi event COVID-19 infections remains unknown.
An August 25th report out of Denver claims “dozens” of attendees have since tested positive. Then there’s secondary infections passed on to those who didn’t attend the event to consider – both primary and secondary contacts.
@themlmbossbabe claims that, after raising awareness of COVID-19 spreading at their event, Paparazzi blocked her on social media.
Update 2nd March 2022 – There appears to now be a limit on Instagram stories available. Links to stories previously accessible stop working after this limit is reached.
This article originally included a link to The MLM Boss Babe’s Instagram story. As of February 2022 however the link is no longer available.
As a result I’ve disabled the previously accessible link in the article.
A little part of my soul died putting all this together.
I can only imagine what is was like for @themlmbossbabe to compile all of this from scratch.
There are so many more screenshots and video footage:
instagram.com/stories/highlights/17928003781681066/
instagram.com/stories/highlights/17900391467183658/
This is absolutely heartbreaking. So very upsetting.
My thoughts are with the friends and family of all those who have died.
My anger is for those who organised this and are now trying to cover it up.
The family aspect of MLM’s disappears the moment something goes wrong.
What a disgusting bunch they are.
Thanks for sharing @themlmbossbabe’s work! She has been fighting the good fight for a long time.
More people need to see how little these companies care for their consultants. It’s all about the $$$ for them.
This should be Mainstream media story.
You can bet the Chamber of Commerces and local tourist boards try to suppress this information.
Let’s talk about angry. My anger is for all those who attended and didn’t follow the guidelines; for all those who refused to get vaccinated to help stop the spread of this disease; and for most MLMers who “put things in God’s hands” bullshit and regard critical thought as “negative”. They refuse to follow math and science.
The company may be the beast, but these people hunted others and fed them to that beast. That’s the thing about MLM: If people refused to join, buy, recruit, or go to conventions, the company would starve to death and go bust.
They are all complicit, and I do not feel sorry for the ones who ignored the proper protocols. I do feel sorry for all the innocent, unvaccinated children they infected though.
Desperation to do what, out of interest? Leverage their hun flu into getting their downline to send them money without even expecting some crappy jewellery in return?
This is a tragic story but, and I type this through gritted teeth, if Las Vegas was allowing large gatherings to take place (and it sounds like they were) the attendees could have been attending a comic book convention and the outcome would have been much the same.
Everyone in the first mask-compliant photo would have almost certainly have caught rona if they hadn’t gotten their jab. Masks are effective at reducing the spread of droplets but if you choose to let that many people spray droplets around you from that close a range, it’s a bit academic.
The examples I saw appeared to be a single mother relying on Paparazzi for income. Another campaign was to cover family members left behind after one of the deaths.
And if this was BehindComicBookConventions, I’d be holding whatever convention organizer was responsible’s feet to the fire.
Covering stories like this leaves me flat. I don’t particularly have sympathy for these people but what hits me is that this is all easily preventable.
People get through childhood, grow up, build lives and… throw it all away. Unbelievably stupid personal choices during what will be a blink of an eye moment in history in a few years.
Well I guess we know who will be winning this year’s Darwin Award.
Jokes aside you make a very good point Oz. This was 100% preventable and now there are consequences that impact more than just the people making the stupid decisions. My heart goes out to those people.
I seriously don’t get it. The level of stupidity that can run in society. Incidents like this completely baffle me.
This makes me so sad as well as angry that events like this are going ahead. They just should not be happening at all.
My heart goes out to the families who have lost a loved one and others that may lose their lives or be permanently debilitated by this terrible virus.
For a Company to treat their consultants this way is just despicable …. they have a lot to answer for.
So many people are so desperate to provide for their families are so vulnerable to companies like this….I just don’t know…it is so beyond sad.
One of these consultants lured my kid brother to go by sending him a ticket- knowing he was not vaccinated!
It was a last minute thing she needed to fill in the spot for a cancelation.. she got him to go…
My brother came back from that trip straight to the ER.. three weeks of agony and torture and sadness and loneliness.. He died a few days ago!
He wasn’t even supposed to be there!!
I don’t even know where to begin with that. Just… horrible.
I know it’s just words but I hope you’re coping. This reckless corporate behavior should have accountability.
If anyone has any information on any group effort being made to bring this company to respond to the tragedy created by their event, or to extend their condolences to the families of the victims who attended, Please let me know!
Not only is my brother dead but this left my mother living dead… all the families feeling the same deserves an act of humanity from this conpany!
Heartbroken,
I am so sorry for your loss. This certainly makes me disgusted at this company. They certainly need to answer for what they have done.
I hope you are doing ok and I hope justice can be met.
Thanks so much, you have no idea what this feels like, never in a million years did we think this would happen to us.
My brother never went out, he loved to be home just taking attending to mom.. he was her world, he was a good kid.. he never said no when a friend was in need…
To know he was slowly dying and not being able to be there with him comforting him, not being able to do anything for him.. but pray from afar.. can’t explain it!
Thanks for listening… Take care.
I am so sorry for your loss, my heart is breaking for you.
It is truly disgusting that they are just ignoring what has happened.
MLM’s are happy to put you into debt, wreck your life, and now show absolutely no compassion when people die as a direct result of an unsafe convention.
I am so sorry.
Thank you all for your words of empathy…
Heartbroken – very sorry for your loss, and all other reps affected by this occasion.
The organisers have a duty of care and responsibility.
It looks like they have been light on that.
BTW in the UK the venue has a duty of care under Covid Laws, is that not the case in the USA?
LOL, no. Everything varies by city or state. Las Vegas does have a mask mandate right now, but I’m guessing it’s not really enforced.
You actually surprised me Oz and you don’t do that too often. Acting as if Covid 19 is even a thing.
Of course it isn’t however (Ozedit: derails removed)
@Jay
Pretending COVID-19 isn’t a thing at this point is the equivalent of “the sky isn’t blue”.
The Herman Cain Award
Leave the conspiracy theories on Facebook, thanks.
@Jay: It’s time to come in out of the cult, buddy.
Saying idiotic things like “covid-19 isn’t real” makes you look like the most idiotic tool in the shed.
Were these people even thinking? Every single one of them is at fault, except of course the children that are too young for the vaccine.
Normally I feel like whatever a person wants to do with their own body is how it should be, in this case knowing there was going to be a huge crowd of people they should have taken proper precaution.
Do they not care that they are plague givers and they have spread this around? They freaking killed people.
Why are anti-vaxxers even a thing? Why instead of listening to science and health data they choose to have god handle it?
Yes I am very angry as this was completely preventable, now it just extends the time that we all have to social distance, wear the masks, be questioned when you go into the doctors office.
Freaking selfish people.
Thanks for that link, Oz; I was unaware of that subreddit. Reading those threads was like watching a slow-motion car wreck (a fatal one, at that) over and over. Hard to watch and hard to turn away.
Someone redditor posted a YT link to a local TV broadcast where the largest hospital in eastern Washington (state) allowed cameras into theit ICU for the first time ever, to let people see the tragedy of this virus up close.
One-on-one interviews with the nurses was particularly heartbreaking; you could see the exhaustion and frustration in their eyes. And the YT comments were chock full of comments from people like Jay: “FAKE! Those were actors!!!”
What is wrong with these people?
I get a good dose of schadenfreude when I check up on the sub every few days.
That and all the other emotions.
In the UK there are no mask mandates and Covid-19 is being allowed to spread freely as if it was flu or other coronaviruses.
If this event had taken place in the UK no-one would have batted an eyelid at all the maskless people.
The organisers would have been under no “duty of care” to stop the attendees from coming or from taking their masks off.
But in the UK you wouldn’t have had so many clinically vulnerable people refusing to get vaccinated.
Events like the Paparazzi one are now normal in the UK. As far as I know no events have been blamed for causing a cluster of deaths. Hence my comment about comic book conventions.
P.S. To be clear, I’m not disagreeing with posters saying the Paparazzi event shouldn’t have gone ahead.
It wasn’t in the UK but in the US, and the risks are clearly different. Due to the low vaccination rate combined with the population’s (even) poorer health.
I think the confusion of blaming the consultants for going is quite prevalent.
The Paparazzi 2020 convention in Vegas, was cancelled and held virtually, due to COVID-19. So I assume, all attendees felt safe enough to go because the previous year Paparazzi cancelled the convention.
So if paparazzi is moving forward in 2021 with the in person convention, I assume most people who went felt that it was safe and that paparazzi actually cared.
This is on Paparazzi, not the consultants.
this is a one-sided article. people have free will it’s their choice to not wear a mask when asked.
they chose to go they knew the rules and chose not to. they could have you make choices and decision like this every day to many people play the blame game when reality.
you point a finger you have three pointing back at yourself. yes, it’s sad they died however they chose not to wear their masks.
This is ‘shouldn’t have dressed like that if you didn’t want to get raped’ repackaged for COVID.
Paprazzi held an event during a pandemic and flouted health and safety laws. The onus was on the company to enforce regulations at their event.
That obviously wasn’t going to happen with company owners violating regulations.
The blood of those who died at Paparazzi’s event will forever be on the company’s hands. Stop making excuses for scumbags.