“Little House on the Prairie”'s Melissa Gilbert Blasts 50th Anniversary Events: 'Waking Nightmare' (Exclusive)

Gilbert explains why she and other members of the show’s cast stopped supporting the 50th anniversary fan events

Melissa Gilbert is not mincing words regarding the Little House on the Prairie cast’s decision to stop participating in 50th anniversary events.

The show’s cast members — including Gilbert, Alison Arngrim, Karen Grassle, Dean Butler, Charlotte Stewart and Matthew Labyorteaux among others — announced on Friday, Sept. 6 that they were canceling events in Tennessee, Missouri and Texas. The cancellation was prompted after they attended "poorly organized and executed events" in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, per a press release the cast released on Oct. 1.

According to the release, the cast sent a letter to event organizer Jack Bishop and his company Gravel Road Markets LLC stating they would "no longer support, promote, or appear at any Gravel Road Markets, LLC events."

The cast also requested that Bishop and Gravel Road Markets "remove our names and likenesses from sales and marketing assets supporting any upcoming Little House on the Prairie 50th Anniversary events produced or promoted by Gravel Road Markets, LLC."

PEOPLE caught up with Gilbert, who said that Gravel Road Markets allegedly advertised that the actress was a co-producer of various 50th anniversary events — a move she calls “appalling.”

Related: Little House on the Prairie’s Melissa Gilbert Says Show Still Reflects the 'Juicy Things' People 'Crave' (Exclusive)

After attending the Little House on the Prairie 50th Anniversary Cast Reunion and Festival in March 2024 in Simi Valley, California in March, Gilbert was unable to do the rest of the tour.

“Immediately, I knew there was an issue, because [Bishop] was promoting that I was going to be at all of these different places, and I wasn't,” Gilbert claims. “Fans were buying tickets to see me, and I knew that I wasn't going to be there."

"I started posting on social media saying, ‘Guys, I'm not going to be there," she continues. "Apparently people contacted him, and he told them, not only was I going to be there, but I was co-producing this with him. So this is the beginning of my experience with Jack Bishop, which just meant he's cutoff and I will not work with anyone who does this. Period, full stop.”

Bishop did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Gilbert, 60, also referred to fans’ critical feedback on Facebook, which covered a number of complaints, including the lack of lighting at a dinner venue. Gilbert claims fans had to use their smartphones’ lights to glimpse the food at the buffet tables.

Related: Little House on the Prairie’s Alison Arngrim and Melissa Gilbert Were Close Despite Playing ‘Mortal Enemies’ (Exclusive)

“As the tour progressed and once they [fans] reached Pennsylvania, from what I understand, it became a waking nightmare,” Gilbert claims. “They ran of out of food. He oversold tickets. He didn’t pay the vendors.”

As a result, The Little House on the Prairie cast has "completely cut ties with Jack Bishop and Gravel Roads Markets," says Gilbert.

"It really is a shocking affront to the fans of Little House on the Prairie," Gilbert said. "And I can say that if I were the owner of the IP [intellectual property], I would be infuriated because I think it really sheds a terrible light on the brand."

Gilbert says because of the "horrible mistreatment of the fans," the cast decided not to continue the tour with Bishop. The actress "advocated for an investigation" into Bishop. She, along with several other individuals she declined to name, started an independent investigation into Bishop and his practices. Once the investigation is complete, the group will decide whether to involve an attorney or law enforcement.

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In the press release from the cast on Oct. 1, they claimed that Bishop failed to notify event-goers of cancellations. He apparently listed the event on Eventbrite as "sold out" rather than "canceled," according to the cast.

Fans apparently arrived in Keystone, S.D. on Sept. 27-29 and a "similar mischaracterization" affected fans in Lyles, Tenn. on Sept. 13-15.

"Now, Jack Bishop is seemingly refusing to announce the cancellation of his Little House events in Branson, MO (November 15-17) and Corsicana, TX (December 6-8)," the statement said, adding that Bishop "appears to be taking advantage of Little House fans."

The cast encouraged fans to "seek clarification" from Eventbrite on their purchase.

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