Desperate mom offered $500 to let her kid meet a YouTube celebrity

At Saturday’s INTOUR in Pasadena, Calif., at least one desperate parent was willing to shell out an extra $500 just to give her daughter time with one of the YouTube celebrities who headlined the event, according to a report from Business Insider.

Tickets to the event, which featured the best and brightest of Fullscreen’s YouTube and Vine stars, started at a price point of only $42, topping out at $150 for a VIP ticket. With VIP access, fans could attend an early meet and greet with all the show’s stars. General admission fans were given a random card that entitled them access to a session with some of the YouTubers featured during the four-hour event. Naturally, some were disappointed with the luck of the draw, and a black market for cards began, with girls tweeting to offer trades, while some parents looking to make their tweens and teens happy resorted to cold hard cash.

I WILL SELL MY SOUL FOR A @jccaylen MEET AND GREET #INTOUR

— please cal (@lashtonftzayn) September 13, 2014

One Business Insider reporter encountered such a mom, who offered her $500 for a Lohanthony card for her 13-year-old. Caroline Moss, a former Daily Dot contributor, had collected the cards for her story, including one for Lohanthony, otherwise known as Anthony Quintal, is a 15-year-old famous on YouTube. Quintal relates deeply to the fans who are being bullied for feeling different, as was the case with the 13-year-old desperate to meet him.

“I was bullied so much in middle school,” Quintal told Business Insider. “I wish there had been something online for me to watch and help me deal with that. That’s what I want to be to other people.”

Eventually the Fullscreen staff facilitated a meeting between the daughter of the pleading mom and the star, with no cash exchanged.

H/T Business Insider | Screengrab via LOHANTHONY/YouTube