What began last week as a handful of jokes about Taylor Swift fans—Swifties—being a powerful enough fanbase to undo a merger as contentious as the 2010 Live Nation Entertainment consolidation seemed to ring true by Friday afternoon.

Hours after Swift’s concert presale opened on Ticketmaster, it became apparent that the sales and distribution powerhouse would be unable to handle the demand. Complaints flooded social media about chaotic online queues kicking waiting customers out and IT infrastructure crashing, capped off by an announcement from the parent company that the general sale would be scrapped altogether.