While the world was riveted by the tragic saga of the doomed Titanic submarine, a related drama played out on Instagram in the latest example of how every story seems to have a sordid social media angle.
On Thursday after a desperate days-long search, the Coast Guard confirmed the deaths of five passengers aboard a tour submarine headed to view the wreckage of the Titanic, saying the underwater vessel suffered a “catastrophic implosion.” Communication with the submarine was lost on Sunday, and U.S. Navy sensors detected a possible implosion in the area around the same time. Search crews have since found debris from the submarine near the wreckage of the Titanic.
As hope of finding survivors faded by the hour, over on social media, the stepson of one of the missing passengers seemed unbothered.
Brian Szasz, the stepson of British billionaire Hamish Harding who perished on board the submarine, ignited an outrage storm when he posted about attending a Blink-182 concert while his stepfather was missing at sea.
Szasz, a 37-year-old audio engineer based in San Diego, confirmed that he was Harding’s stepson in a Facebook post on Monday asking for “thoughts and prayers that the rescue mission will be successful.” Hours later, he posted a picture of himself at the San Diego concert.
”It might be distasteful being here but my family would want me to be at the blink-182 show as it’s my favorite band and music helps me in difficult times!” Szasz wrote.
He added in a tweet to the Blink-182 band members that he was “devastated but coming to the San Diego show tonight so you guys can give me hope and cheer me up.”
Social media users and the media quickly reacted with disbelief and outrage. On Tuesday, Szasz responded by saying he is “not sorry.”
“Yes I went to @blink-182 last night,” Szasz posted on his Instagram Stories with a photo of him at the concert. “What am I supposed to do sit at home and watch the news? Not sorry this band has helped me through hard times since 1998.”
Szasz later said his mom Linda “asked me to delete all related posts. Thanks for the support.”
However, Szasz dug himself deeper when social media users noticed that he had reacted to a crude post by an OnlyFans model.
On Wednesday as the search for his stepfather inched closer to a harrowing oxygen level deadline, Szasz tweeted at OnlyFans model Brea, who posted a photo of herself in a bikini with the caption, “can i sit on u.”
“Yes please!” Szasz responded along with an emoji of a smiley face with hearts.
His OnlyFans tweet came just a half hour after Szasz asked his Twitter followers to “Please keep my family in your prayers!”
Szasz’s comment section was immediately flooded with people calling him out for responding to “thirst traps” and going to concerts while his stepdad was missing.
The situation caught the attention of an out-of-the-blue critic, rapper Cardi B, who gave Szasz a tongue-lashing for his behavior.
Cardi B speaks on billionaire lost on the submarine 👀 “I’d rather be broke and love” pic.twitter.com/0ShQVDTE10
— My Mixtapez (@mymixtapez) June 21, 2023
“Ay so one of the billionaires that’s missing underwater, on the submarine sh*t… One of the billionaires, they stepson is at a concert, right, a Blink-182 concert,” Cardi B said in an Instagram video she posted Tuesday. “People was like, ‘Uh what is he supposed to do, be sad at the house? Is he supposed to go look for him himself?’ Yes. You supposed to be at the house sad. You supposed to be crying for me, you supposed to be right next to the phone waiting to hear any updates about me.”
The Daily Wire’s Candace Owens tweeted that she agreed with everything Cardi B said about the “submarine stepson from hell.”
Cardi B responded with a GIF of a kangaroo giving the side eye.
https://t.co/snReKedKdX pic.twitter.com/1EULArzUc2
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) June 22, 2023
Szasz lashed out at Cardi B on Twitter, calling her a “pos trashy celeb” and accusing her of “trying to get clout off me and my families [sic] suffering.”
“Shame on you Cardi get some class!” Szasz said, adding a jab at Cardi B’s career.
“Cardi B we know all of your latest releases are trash but is your career this desperate for attention now??” Szasz tweeted.
Cardi B responded by throwing the clout accusation back at Szasz.
“The point was the whole world is praying for these people in the submarine and this man son is online shaking d**ks for girls off onlyfans and going to Blink 182 concerts,” she tweeted.
The point was the whole world is praying for these people in the submarine and this man son is online shaking dicks for girls off onlyfans and going to Blink 182 concerts. You was looking for clout all along, nobody knew who you were until you said that was ya stepdad!!! This is… https://t.co/FQ8pfR55Ob
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) June 21, 2023
“You was looking for clout all along, nobody knew who you were until you said that was ya stepdad!!! This is why people you hate you spoiled brat billionaires yall so desensitize,” the rapper added.
Cardi B also threw a barb at YouTube gossip blogger Tasha K, who accused her of “posting guns” right after the fatal shooting of rapper Takeoff, her husband’s relative and bandmate.
“And Tasha K with your despicable a**.. to bring up Takeoff to prove a fake a** point is disgusting. I lost weight, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, me and my man STILL dealing wit that to to this day. I’m a rapper, we targeted all the time so of course I have guns for protection,” Cardi B tweeted.
Szasz eventually deleted his Twitter account, calling the situation a “f***ing nightmare.”
On Thursday though, he took to Instagram to call Cardi B “a complete b****” who “has no idea what’s going on.”
Stepson of billionaire lost at sea in the Titanic Submarine responds to Cardi B pic.twitter.com/cyqsTAYeSb
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) June 22, 2023
The exhausting social media drama became a lurid international story in its own right this week, competing for attention with the actual story, the ongoing search for the five missing explorers.
With rescue efforts coming to a tragic close and Szasz’s Twitter and Instagram accounts quiet now though, perhaps the rest of Harding’s family will be able to grieve in peace.