TikTok star Anna Paul's meet and greet shut down by Perth police
A meet and greet with a popular Australian TikToker and OnlyFans creator was shut down by police due to safety concerns.
Anna Paul boasts millions of followers across her social media platforms and is currently promoting a collaboration with STAX, an Australian activewear brand.
She had visited Sydney and Melbourne for a meet and greet last week, however, the last leg of the in-store promotion was cancelled.
Perth fans hoping to meet Ms Paul swarmed Hay Street Mall on Sunday, which led to police shutting down the event.
Police attended the STAX store in Hay Street, at the request of the store's management, with the expectation of 200 to 300 people showing up.
Footage of the event showed there was a huge crowd on Hay Street, chanting "Anna, Anna!".
People said in the video they waited in line for hours and there were screenshots of Instagram stories that seem to show people lining up from 6am on Sunday.
There were also allegations of fights breaking out and people pushing and shoving within the crowd.
The event, which was publicised on social media, was expected to run from 12pm to 4pm.
However, a "significantly" larger crowd showed up on Sunday, police said in a statement.
"Tensions among some parts of the crowd were noticed to increase with allegations of ‘queue-jumping’ and police requested the assistance of St John Ambulance after several people collapsed and required medical assistance," police said.
"Due to the size of the crowd and lack of appropriate security and other event planning in place to cope with the larger than expected crowd, and in consultation with the store management, the event was closed down and police commenced dispersing the crowd from the area."
Anna Paul and STAX respond to cancelled event
Both Ms Paul and STAX have released statements regarding the event.
"Thank you for being amazing, thank you so much," Ms Paul said on Instagram, where she acknowledged the event was shut down, saying it became a "huge safety hazard".
"I am so sorry. We tried our very best to work with the police, but it was too much. Your safety is our 1# concern always."
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In a statement, STAX said the company was "overwhelmed with the response" and thanked people for their continual support.
"As you can imagine this is not how we foresaw today going," the statement said.
People have made videos on TikTok detailing their experience in the crowd. Some said they had anxiety attacks while standing in line.
One person on TikTok said they were "disgusted" by the behaviour of the crowd. In that same video, while the crowd is cheering, one person is heard yelling "I'm getting squashed".
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