Four employees have reportedly been dismissed from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam following The Pokémon X Van Gogh exhibition.
In a report from Dutch newspaper Het Parool (via Eurogramer), at least four employees were suspended from the museum “due to their behavior”. While the museum itself has refused to confirm numbers, sources close to the newspaper have stated that four people were suspended. Among these are security guards and public service employees.
As for why they were suspended, sources told Het Parool that one employee attempted to embezzle a box of the exclusive Pikachu Van Gogh Pokémon cards. Another apparent issue was that certain employees were telling visitors about the exhibit ahead of time, telling them where to buy tickets. One of those fired was an employee at the museum for 25 years.
All in all, the exhibit was a bit of a mess, then. The idea of the collaboration and the merchandise was very cool, but as with any exclusive Pokémon merch nowadays, things descended into chaos very quickly. Opening back in September 2023 and running until early January 2024, the Pokémon X Van Gogh collaboration featured six Van Gogh paintings reimagined with Pokémon, exclusive merchandise, and an exclusive Pokémon card — which became the hot ticket.
However, not even a day into the exhibit opening, there were reports of huge crowds and chaos as fans clamoured to get all of the shiny new merch. Then listings for the exclusive merch started appearing online, with many items going for ludicrous prices.
