"Angry Parents Are Demanding Refunds For YouTube Star Blippi’s Live Show"

Katie Notopoulos continuing to own the Blippy beat:

Blippi, a wildly popular YouTube star for the preschool set, announced on Tuesday a live tour of shows throughout the US. But Stevin John, the man who created Blippi and plays him in videos that routinely get over 20 million views, won't be there. Instead, an actor will be play the “character” of Blippi, an adult man in tight jeans and orange bowtie who delights in learning about fire trucks and tractors. And the only way you'd know that is if you bothered to read the fine print on the Blippi Live website.

Parents are pissed.

...

“I called Ticketmaster and argued with them as they were equating it to Disney on Ice and him being a ‘character,’” said a mother who spent $460 on tickets and meet-and-greet packages for her family of four, and who ultimately got a refund. “But I argued that he IS the character and it would be like the Wiggles touring with replacements!”

(Did the Wiggles not have standins?)