Stepson of missing Titan passenger attends Blink-182 concert because ‘music helps me’

The stepson of British billionaire Hamish Harding, who is one of the passengers aboard a missing submersible, is taking comfort in all the small things — by attending a Blink-182 concert.

“@blink182 ⁦@tomdelonge ⁩ ⁦@travisbarker @markhoppis My stepdad Hamish is on this submarine lost at sea. I’m devastated but coming to the San Diego show tonight so you guys can give me hope and cheer me up,” San Diego resident Brian Szasz tweeted Monday evening, addressing the band’s core members while the U.S. Coast Guard searches for the submersible.

Harding, chairman of Dubai-based aviation sales and acquisitions company Action Aviation, is one of the five people aboard the tourist submersible that went missing Sunday.

On social media, Szasz has been raising awareness about the disappearance of his stepfather and the Titan vessel, which left St. John’s on Friday for its expedition of the Titanic wreck in the North Atlantic. Szasz also shared on Twitter and Facebook that he’s finding comfort in music amid his stepfather’s disappearance.

“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 in a since-deleted Facebook post. In the photo, Szasz stands in front of a Blink-182 merchandise stand outside San Diego’s Pechanga Arena.

“Blink 182 gets us through life’s toughest times!,” Szasz tweeted Tuesday.

The missing vessel was designed with a 96-hour sustainment capability if there’s any emergency onboard. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John W. Mauger said in a press conference Monday that officials “anticipate that there is somewhere between the 70 to full 96 hours” of oxygen. It’s estimated there is about a day’s supply of oxygen remaining, as of Wednesdsay.

“We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely,” said OceanGate Expeditions, the company behind the visit to the Titanic wreck, in a release on Monday.

One of the social media users who shared their opinions on Szasz’s coping style was rapper Cardi B, who slammed the San Diego resident for finding comfort in concerts.

“You supposed to be at the house sad, you supposed to be crying for me,” she said in an Instagram story shared Tuesday. “You supposed to be right next to a phone waiting to hear any updates about me. You supposed to be consoling your mom.”

The “I Like It” musician — whose story included a filter of a fleshy figure embracing her — claimed that “no one gives a f—” about Harding, adding that she would rather “be broke and poor but knowing that I’m loved.” Szasz was not a fan of what the rapper he called a “trashy celeb” had to say.

“Cardi B trying to get clout off me and my families suffering,” he tweeted Wednesday. “I went to a Blink 182 concert for coping rather than sitting at home and watching the news. Shame on you Cardi get some class!”

In another tweet Szasz wrote, “Cardi B We know all your latest releases are trash but is your career this desperate for attention now??”

As Szasz went viral, allegations of online harassment and stalking against the rock fan resurfaced on social media. In the summer of 2021, Szasz allegedly posted threatening tweets to women in the rave community. EDM artist Alison Wonderland was allegedly among those targeted by Szasz social media posts.

In several since-deleted tweets from 2021 that resurfaced via screenshots this week, Szasz singled out Wonderland, writing she “will f— pay and I will show up to her LA apartment.” The musician was set to perform with DJ Illenium in Las Vegas in July.

“My team and I are aware of the situation and are working with authorities and the stadium on it. My #1 priority at any of my shows is for fans to feel safe,” Illenium tweeted in June 2021. “We take all threats seriously and anyone making them will be reported to police and not allowed into the venue.”

According to legal documents, Szasz — who lives with Type 1 diabetes and autism spectrum disorder — was detained on June 30, 2021, at Vista Detention Facility “in connection with online stalking charges pressed against him.”

A year after his detainment, Szasz filed a lawsuit against San Diego County alleging several Vista Detention Facility workers of “negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, battery.” As of May, the case is still in litigation.

A legal representative for Szasz did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment Wednesday.

Times staff writers Alexandra E. Petri and Summer Lin contributed to this report.