Disclaimer: Most, if not all, information included in this article is sourced from Netflix’s 2019 film Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened. MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD.
Earlier this month, Netflix released Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, a documentary revealing the disturbing details of the 2017 music festival scandal. Directed by Chris Smith, the film follows musician Jeffrey Atkins, known as Ja Rule, as he partnered with entrepreneur and notorious con-artist, Billy McFarland, to create a celebrity booking service called Fyre Media. In an attempt to publicize the developing app, the Fyre Media team began to envision a revolutionary music festival in the Bahamas, ultimately leading up to the massive failure Fyre Festival came to be. The lack of the company’s transparency in itself is astounding; however, these moments are even MORE wild:
Billy McFarland (left) and Ja Rule (right) | Photo courtesy of x
- The Influencers: Four hundred elite influencers were hired to upload Fyre’s trademark burnt-orange tile on Instagram in a social media campaign accompanying the festival. According to the documentary, Kendall Jenner was supposedly paid 250,000 dollars for her post. Even better- they agreed to doing so with VERY little information about what was being advertised. SMH.
Several of Fyre’s influencers | Photo courtesy of x
2. The Location: The festival was initially set to be held on Norman’s Cay, a Bahamian island in the Exumas affiliated with the infamous Pablo Escobar. Fyre was specifically asked by the island’s owners NOT to mention Escobar’s name in any advertisements as they were hoping to rebrand the cay. After this promise was broken, Fyre was asked to relocate. Essentially, major setbacks could have been avoided had they not chose to use the drug lord as a selling point. By the way, weird flex but okay?
Norman’s Cay, Bahamas | Photo courtesy of x
3. The Natives: While the company continued to market Fyre as a private island experience, it was moved to the less-glamorous bluffs of the Great Exumas. With little time to spare, McFarland’s team called upon hundreds of natives to put together the festival, many of whom were not paid for their work. Who else was heartbroken by the restaurant owner losing her savings because of Fyre? Fortunately, GoFundMe donors made sure that more than enough money was returned.
Maryann Rolle, restaurant owner | Photo courtesy of x
4. The Desperation: Fyre event producer Andy King was actually asked by McFarland to perform oral sex on a customs agent in order to obtain the water supply needed to supply the festival. WHAT?! The worst part? He almost did! “Can you imagine, in my 30 years of a career, that this is what I was going to do?” King asks in Fyre. “I was going to do that, honestly, to save the festival.” Talk about taking one for the team.
Andy King (left) and Billy McFarland (right) | Photo courtesy of x
5. The Bracelets: Customers began receiving emails from Fyre about a cashless bracelet system with only weeks remaining until the festival. Described as a concert-goers “digital identity,” recipients were asked to transfer money onto these bracelets before attending the festival to ensure the best possible experience at Fyre. Without much information about the system, people began to send thousands of dollars to the company, unaware that the money would be funding a festival that has still yet to exist. Oh, and there wasn’t Internet on the island either!
Billy McFarland at Fyre Festival shoot | Photo courtesy of x
6. The Conditions: The conditions of the festival were absolutely horrendous and incredibly dangerous. The first to arrive were sent to swelter under the sun without access to their luggage for nearly SIX HOURS. The “luxury villas and cabanas” turned out to be hurricane refugee tents, which were soaked by the massive rainstorm that hit the island that very morning. The lockers expected to hold people’s valuables haven’t been set up until the day of. Dozens of people were locked (like with an actual chain on the door) in an airport overnight without much food or water. The dream vacation turned out to be a complete nightmare.
Tents at Fyre Festival | Photo courtesy of x
7. The Concert: The concert itself DIDN’T. EVEN. HAPPEN. While acts such as Blink-182 pulled out of the festival on their own, the Fyre booking agent featured in the film admitted to cancelling others once mayhem ensued. It was later revealed that McFarland had flat-out lied to potential investors about who was scheduled to perform. A company funding Coachella nearly pulled out of their contract once they heard Drake was “booked to play at Fyre”. Yeesh.
Fyre Festival line-up | Photo courtesy of x
8. The Apology: Through and through, the public relations of Fyre was handled totally unprofessionally due to McFarland’s refusal to compromise with his own team. In the midst of the festival’s backlash, Fyre released this statement, continuing to be dishonest with their audience. While the downfall of the festival is claimed to be an “unforseeable situation,” the disorganization and lack of communication internally was definitely NOT out of the company’s control.
Fyre Festival press statement | Photo courtesy of x
9. The Stupidity: In a scene depicting a conference meeting at Fyre Media after the festival, Ja Rule has the AUDACITY to defend the company’s fraudulent acts, excusing them as false advertising instead. I.. uh…
My genuine reaction | Photo courtesy of x
10. The Scammer: After being released from jail on bail, McFarland continued to cheat people out of money by working with businessman Frank Tribble. In McFarland’s latest scheme, he asked Tribble to be a representative for NYC VIP Access, promising customers exclusive entry to events such as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, Met Gala and basketball games at Madison Square Garden. He was arrested shortly after for fraud and was sentenced to 6 years in prison.
Billy McFarland trial | Photo courtesy of x
Check out Fyre on Netflix available now.