Where to even begin with Fyre Festival? The event was billed as an unforgettable beach party and music festival for the wealthy elite. It would take place on a private island in the Bahamas and feature "the best in food, art, music and adventure" according to the official promo video. Keep that in mind.
Tickets, which went from $450 to a stunning $250,000, sold like hotcakes as the result of a well-organized advertising campaign. "Defendants invested enormous amounts of time and money in promoting and advertising their festival domestically and internationally," the filing reads.
Make a splash in the #Bahamas at the Fyre Festival. #Retweet and Enter to Win! https://t.co/Zgr5HfD286 #summer #vacation pic.twitter.com/NLqzKdK2jZ
— Sweepstakes (@SweepsAdvantage) April 11, 2017
"They employed hundreds of online 'influencers' — including Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski — to use social media to generate ticket sales, and created extravagant websites and mock-ups of the luxurious villas in which attendees would be staying."
#FyreFestival is a dream & vision we poured our hearts & souls into creating, 2017 fell dramatically short of even modest expectations
— Fyre Festival (@fyrefestival) April 30, 2017
But almost immediately, cracks in the fantasy began to form. The "private island" in question was revealed to be Great Exuma, not a private island in any sense. The media began to report that the organizers, which included entrepreneur Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule, were "dangerously underequipped and posed a serious danger to anyone in the attendance," and had even considered canceling the festival. Artists meant to perform at the festival ended up not being paid and pulled out at the last minute.
Lies about private island. Lies about transport. Lies about paying artist & lineup. Lies about lodging. Lies about Sandals. #fyrefestival https://t.co/rne6NRkA3W
— FyreFestivalFraud (@FyreFraud) April 4, 2017
But the tickets were nonrefundable, and many decided to attend despite the rumors of disaster. At least the accommodations would be good, right? Right?
Crushed it #fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/H7jz41fw3E
— Allison Vatz (@avatz) April 28, 2017
Not quite. The filing for the lawsuit literally compared conditions on the island to "The Hunger Games" or "Lord of the Flies." The "luxury cabanas" were canvas tents made for use by refugees. The "gourmet meals" were two pieces of bread, two pieces of cheese, and a glob of slimy vegetables served in a paper box.
The dinner that @fyrefestival promised us was catered by Steven Starr is literally bread, cheese, and salad with dressing. #fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/I8d0UlSNbd
— Trevor DeHaas (@trev4president) April 28, 2017
"Defendants refused to warn attendees about the dangerous conditions awaiting them on the island," the filing stated. "Defendants only 'cancelled' the event on the morning of the first day — after thousands of attendees had already arrived and were stranded, without food, water, or shelter."
Stuck at #fyrefestival trying to leave for the last 8 hours. barley any food or water or security or electricity pic.twitter.com/jHPMnJw5gx
— Lamaan (@LamaanGallal) April 28, 2017
It got worse. Luggage vanished into the ether, and soon so did the medical staff — just as people began to faint from dehydration. Instead of a music festival, attendees got to enjoy sitting in total darkness in a strange country as night fell.
We have been locked indoors with no air NO FOOD and NO water #fyrefestival #fyrefest fyrefraud pic.twitter.com/wg5pZmSvnx
— Lamaan (@LamaanGallal) April 28, 2017
The wealthy, elite attendees were miserable, and more than 150 of them are expected to join the lawsuit. Those in-the-know about the festival organizers were unsurprised. And the internet was, and still is, having a ball.
The luxury stage was so lit. Sadly, there was no beer at the luxury bar. They didn't run out. They never had any to begin with #fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/lJzHX1WuTV
— William N. Finley IV (@WNFIV) April 30, 2017
Ja Rule went on social media to apologize and insist that this debacle, which was totally his fault, was "NOT [HIS] FAULT." As for McFarland, one certainly can't fault his can-do spirit. He told Rolling Stone that he was interested in holding a "make-up" Fyre Festival 2: Electric Boogaloo in 2018.
— Ja Rule (@Ruleyork) April 28, 2017
"We were a little naive in thinking for the first time we could do this ourselves," said McFarland. Just a little, mind you. "Next year, we will definitely start earlier. The reality is, we weren't experienced enough to keep up.
