The stepson of billionaire Hamish Harding is being slammed and mocked on social media for attending a Blink-182 concert amid a high-stakes multinational rescue mission to find his stepfather, as well as four others, lost at sea on a submarine that was visiting the Titanic wreckage.
“It might be distasteful being here but my family would want me to be at the Blink-182 show as it’s my favorite band and music helps me in difficult times,” Harding’s stepson Brian Szasz wrote on Facebook Monday, according to multiple reports.
The 37-year-old later deleted his post, noting that his mother had “asked me to delete all related posts. Thanks for the support.”
But on Tuesday, after receiving backlash for the Blink-182 post, Szasz took to his Instagram Stories to defend his decision to attend the concert amid the search and rescue mission.
“Yes I went to @blink-182 last night,” Szasz wrote alongside a photo of him standing next to a Blink-182 merchandize table. “What am I supposed to do sit at home and watch the news? Not sorry this band has helped me through hard times since 1998.”
Before the concert in San Diego on Monday night, Szasz also reportedly took to Twitter to express his admiration for Blink-182 band members Tom DeLonge, Travis Barker, and Mark Hoppus.
“@blink182 @tomdelonge @travisbarker @markhoppis My stepdad Hamish is on this submarine lost at sea. I’m devastated but coming to the San Diego show tonight so you guys can give me hope and cheer me up,” he wrote.
On Wednesday morning, Blink-182 began trending on Twitter as the public slammed and mocked Szasz for attending the concert, and accused him of using his stepfather’s misfortune as an opportunity to meet the band.
“The billionaire that’s lost on the titanic submarine’s step son is now milking it to meet blink-182,” one Twitter user commented.
“Imagine dying in the middle of the ocean and ur son is trying to use it get blink 182 tickets,” another wrote.
“HAHAHA Submarine son using his dead dad to try to meet Blink 182. This is incredible,” another echoed.
“If I’m ever a billionaire trapped in a life-or-death situation, you have my permission to cyberbully my spoilt stepson for going to a Blink-182 concert while information on my safety is still unknown. It’s what I would have wanted regardless of the outcome,” another said.
Another Twitter user commented that Harding’s stepson is “so devastated but still going [to BLink-182] lmao.”
“Homeboys dad went to see the titanic in a great value brand coke can controlled by a damn GameCube controller and he’s going to Blink 182 concert,” another tweeted. “You can’t make this stuff up.”
“This #OceanGate story is actually insane. Billionaires in a cheaply designed can went 3000m into the depths of the ocean controlling it via a fucking wish.com controller. Also one of the billionaires sons posted he’s coping by attending a blink 182 concert,” another wrote. “Bananas bro.”
“If you’d told me 2 days ago that the words ‘the Blink 182 submarine stepson’ would make absolute sense to me within 48 hours I would have bled from the eyes,” another Twitter user remarked.
“Imagine being Kourtney Kardashian and having your pregnancy announcement not be the biggest news story that involves a Blink-182 concert that week,” another quipped.
The Twitter user was referring to Kourtney Kardashian, who is married to Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, announcing that she is pregnant with his child at the Blink-182 concert in Los Angeles on Friday.
At the time of publishing, Blink-182 members have not publicly commented on Szasz attending their concert amid a high-stakes rescue mission for his stepfather.
On Sunday, the 21-foot submarine, named Titan, lost contact with Canadian Research Vessel Polar Prince about an hour and 45 minutes into its dive to view the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, according to the United States Coast Guard News.
Titan was part of an OceanGate Expeditions tour, which explores the Titanic wreckage, which sits about 12,500 feet below sea level in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
At the time of publishing, the five men on the lost submarine have less than 24 hours of breathable air left inside the vessel.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.