Teen influencer Salish Matter‘s appearance at American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Saturday, September 6, drew thousands of fans, creating what officials describe as “one of the largest events the mall has ever hosted.” The massive gathering, organized to launch Matter’s new skincare line “Sincerely Yours” at Sephora, quickly escalated beyond the capacity of mall security, requiring state police intervention.

Jordan Matter, Salish’s father and a prominent digital creator with tens of millions of YouTube subscribers, told PEOPLE magazine that while they used an Eventbrite sign-up system to estimate attendance, “triple that number of people showed up.” 

Early Shutdown

Videos shared on social media show thousands of fans packed across three levels of the mall, pressing against glass barriers and railings. Safety announcements over loudspeakers instructed attendees to “step away from the glass” for their safety.

As conditions deteriorated, state police took control of the situation, shutting down the planned stage show early. The 15-year-old influencer and her father were kept backstage and ultimately escorted from the mall at 3 p.m., seven hours before the event’s scheduled conclusion.

“They would not allow either me or my daughter to go back out into the crowd for safety concerns,” Jordan Matter explained in his statement. “We were kept backstage and unable to see everybody as we had planned.”

Fan Reactions Mixed

Attendees expressed frustration on social media platforms, describing the event as “poorly planned,” “unsafe,” and “chaotic.” Multiple reports mention parents pushing, people cutting in lines, and tickets that “were never scanned because it was open to everyone.”

“Omg… pure chaos. This was hands-down the most poorly planned event I’ve ever been to,” one attendee commented on social media. “It was like kindness went out the window the second the doors opened.”

Despite the early termination, an American Dream spokesperson maintained that “Salish was still able to connect with many of her fans in person and through her on-stage performance.”

Salish, who first gained fame through appearances on her father’s YouTube channel, later described the experience in a livestream as “the scariest day of my life.”

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