Jay-z Blasts 9/11 Ticket Scalpers

JAY-Z has slammed unscrupulous scalpers for re-selling tickets to his upcoming 9/11 benefit concert in New York, telling fans he is “disheartened” by the immoral behaviour.

The rap superstar is playing a charity show at Madison Square Garden on the eighth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks to celebrate the release of his new album The Blueprint 3 and raise money for a good cause.

Pre-sale tickets were made available on Tuesday morning (08Sep09) on the Ticketmaster.com website three hours before going on general sale, but fans were outraged to discover they were on sale at highly inflated prices on Ticketmaster’s resale website TicketsNow.com and similar agencies.

Some stubs for the benefit concert, dubbed Answer The Call, were even being touted by ticket scalpers for as much as $3,332 (£2,221) on StubStack.com - more than 61 times their face value.

And the 99 Problems hitmaker has hit out at touts who are hoping to profit from the show.

In a statement he says, “We are truly disheartened that certain individuals would choose to benefit from what is meant to be a 100 per cent charitable event. We do not support any profits made from reselling any ticket that was meant to be purchased by honest fans.”

All profits from the concert will go to the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund, a charity created to support the families of police officers and firefighters who have died in the line of duty.