Not everyone’s feeling sorry for all the rich folk stuck in the mud at Burning Man

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Things haven’t gone to plan this year at Burning Man, where organizers have advised attendees to shelter in place and conserve food and water after heavy rain transformed the desert festival into a muddy wasteland.

Known for attracting billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, as well as a host of celebrities and influencers, Burning Man is a nine-day art and music festival held annually in Black Rock, Nevada. While attendees are usually quick to share glamorous social media posts from the desert, things look rather different this year. 

Video shared on social media by some of the 70,000 attendees show how conditions began deteriorating after the storms struck on Friday. People have been swapping shoes for plastic bags to trudge through mud, sleeping in tents partially submerged in water, and using overflowing porta-potties.

As grim as the conditions appear, not everyone is feeling sorry for those at Burning Man, some of whom paid up to $2,750 to attend.

Commentators responding to video posted by attendee Christine Lee and reshared by CBS reporter Betty Yu on X, expressed a lack of empathy for people willing to go to Burning Man in the first place. 

In one video, Lee said being trapped at the festival with no way to escape had been “terrifying” and “scary.”

“I’m sorry, but I have a bit of a hard time empathizing for 70k wanting to rough it outdoors to dance party in the desert knowing there’s wind & rain storms in the desert,” one user responded. 

“First-world problems, next!,” another added. 

On TikTok, a compilation of videos showcasing the conditions at the festival shared by user @shoddylynn received similarly lukewarm responses. The clip, which has had 3.5 million views, is captioned “The playa isnt really providing this time…” 

The playa is an area at the desert venue where much of the art is displayed and attendees are usually able to roam around freely.

“Hope they enjoy trench foot,” one TikTok user wrote in a comment, referencing a painful condition that occurs when you stand in cold water for long periods of time.

“Isn’t this where rich people go to feel poor?,” another commentator wrote, while several other users expressed shock that anyone had paid to attend the festival. 

Users also expressed confusion as to whether attendees checked the forecast before heading to the festival.

In the comment section of a TikTok shared by Burning Man attendee Chelsea Leigh on Saturday, one user wrote that weather forecasts forewarned of rainy conditions in the desert 10 days prior. 

“I’m confused did no one check the weather?” one user wrote. 

“Money can’t buy weather,” another added.