Pokémon x Van Gogh Museum disaster leads to employee suspension

Last year, it was announced that all merch tied to the Pokémon x Van Gogh Museum collaboration had completely sold out. This happened after people flooded the museum to pick up every bit of merch they could, which led to an absolutely chaotic scene. People were climbing over one another to snag any piece of the limited merch line they could, and scalpers swarmed in order to buy stock to turn into profit online.

Following the madness, the Van Gogh Museum updated their Pokémon collaboration FAQ with a note on the “Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat.” The museum made the decision to stop the distribution of the card at their location due to safety concerns following the reaction to its debut. Their statement on the matter read as follows:

The Van Gogh Museum and The Pokémon Company International take the safety and security of visitors and staff very seriously. Recently, a small group of individuals has created an undesirable situation that has led us to take the difficult decision to remove the Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat promo card from the museum. In this way, visitors will be able to experience this special collection of Pokémon paintings and the rest of the museum in a safe and enjoyable manner.

Now, months after the entire fiasco went down, we’re learning that some people involved have faced some serious repercussions.

A new report reveals that the Van Gogh Museum has suspended at least four workers that were working during the campaign, as they were accused of misconduct. One such employee had been employed at the museum for 25 years, so it’s clear that the higher-ups weren’t messing around with their reaction to the mayhem.

In particular, the suspended employees were accused of informing family and friends on how to get event tickets even though they were sold out, and even worse, embezzling a box of the Pokémon x Van Gogh Museum cards. With this being the case, you can certainly see why the museum decided to part way with these employees.