Promoter/scammer Billy McFarland has responded to accusations that FYRE II is not real.
If you’ve been following the stupid drama regarding FYRE II (the second incarnation of the disastrous Fyre Festival that ripped off thousands), you’ll know that officials on Isla Mujeres have no idea what’s going on, even though the festival is scheduled to start on May 30. To recap, the tourist directorate said this: “We have no knowledge of this event, nor contact with any person or any company about it. For us, this is an event that does not exist…This festival is not going to happen. There are red flags all over the place,”
Repeat: “It does not exist.”
Billy McFarland, the organizer (and a guy who went to jail for fraud for the first Fyre Festival) has had to respond to this. He claims that what he’s said has been “shared, retold, twisted and covered by journalists from all over the world.” So he tried to set the record straight.
- “First, Fyre 2 is real.” (Sure. Right.)
- “Second, we have incredible partners leading the festival. They’re in charge of all the logistics, productions and operations. This includes an incredible production team in Mexico who does not F around. There is no way they would ever take on a fake festival.” (Uh, what about the people of Isla Mujeres who say they don’t know anything?)
- “Three, we have accommodations. Naturally, this is a huge point of emphasis given the issues surrounding Fyre 1. Our accommodations include contracts with a number of villas, yachts and hotels. It also includes two hotels that were contacted by the media and in response gave misleading statements saying they’ve never heard of Fyre and they aren’t working with us. After hearing this, I asked my team to terminate those contracts and to focus on the hotels and other partners that are eager to work with and support Fyre.” (A lot of hotels say they have no idea what Fyre 2 is doing.)
- “Four, we have talent. Aritsts, athletes, and other performers are on board and scheduled for Fyre 2.” (Great! Who?)
- “Five, restitution is being paid. Since being released [from jail] 30 months ago, I’ve made 40 payments to restitution. I’ve also made it my mission to do more than [is] legally required. Part of this has been giving a large percentage of Fyre 2’s budget and profits directly to restitution.” (But what if there are no profits?)
- “Six, my partners and I have remained in communication with local and state government to ensure full compliance and a successful event that benefits the local economy, shares the beauty of the Mexican Caribbean with the world and helps make right for all the wrongs.” (That’s not what they say.)
- , “Seven, Fyre 2 is moving forward and we are moving forward with full integrity. From now on, updates will come directly from me. I look forward to continuing to work with my great partners to bring the vision of Fyre to life and to help make right for all the wrongs. If anybody wants to join us and help us make history and help show the truth and the vision of the intentions, please DM me. I’m here day and night. Thank you very much and I look very forward to sharing this with the world.”
Nice production values here, dude.
Listen, anyone who buys tickets to this thing–which starts at US$1,400 just for the festival and goes up to US$1.1 million–is missing at least 90% of their brain.
