Titanic Sub Missing: Billionaire Passenger’s Stepson Defends Attending Blink-182 Show During Search
The stepson of British billionaire Hamish Harding believes Blink-182 will get him through "life's toughest times."
Brian Szasz spoke out on social media to defend his decision to attend a Blink-182 concert amid a high-stakes rescue mission to find his stepfather, as well as four other passengers, onboard the missing Titanic submersible.
"Yes I went to @blink-182 last night," Szasz, an audio engineer based in San Diego, wrote on his Instagram Stories June 20 alongside a photo of him at the venue. "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."
The 37-year-old shared news of his outing on Facebook June 19, according to screenshots obtained by multiple outlets, where he wrote, "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!"
Leonardo DiCaprio's Best Roles
He later deleted the post, noting that his mom Linda "asked me to delete all related posts. Thanks for the support."
Meanwhile, on Twitter, Szasz expressed his gratitude to Blink-182 band members Tom DeLonge, Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus.
"My stepdad Hamish is on this submarine lost at sea," Szasz tweeted. "I'm devastated but coming to the San Diego show tonight so you guys can give me hope and cheer me up."
The 21-foot submersible—named Titan—lost contact with Canadian Research Vessel Polar Prince on June 18 approximately an hour and 45 minutes into its dive to view the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, according to the United States Coast Guard News.
Titan was part of an OceanGate Expeditions tour—which explores the RMC Titanic, the ship that sank in 1912 and inspired James Cameron's Titanic—and is located about approximately 900 nautical miles East of Cape Cod, according to the Coast Guard.
"Our entire focus is on the crew members in the submersible and their families," OceanGate said in a statement, obtained by NBC News, "we are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible."
Along with Harding, CEO Stockton Rush, French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood are on board.
Click here to read more about the passengers onboard the Titan.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
