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In a development that may land somewhere between Woodstock 1999 and “Staying Alive” on the list of all-time unnecessary sequels, Billy McFarland is promising that there will be a “Fyre Festival II,” even though there was never a Fyre Festival I. “Fyre Festival II is finally happening,” the promoter posted on Twitter alongside a flame emoji. “Tell me why you should be invited.” The immediate responses or quote-tweet comments includes such remarks as “Imagine having this level of audacity,” “I’ll just wait for the documentaries” and “Because I hate myself.” McFarland was released from prison in 2022 after doing four...

Though strenuously hyped by Feldman, the premiere for the film — at least online — was hampered from the get-go, beset by an awkward interface and complaints on Twitter directed at Feldman himself. (He was screening the film live in LA concurrently.) For $20, users were promised access to a live-stream of the film at 11 p.m. Monday, with a Q&A with Feldman to follow, and a second “screening” Tuesday afternoon. But, right up to the minute of the premiere, the film’s hashtag was mostly populated by fans either begging for or offering tech help with the various error messages....

The two competing documentaries out this week on 2016’s calamitous Fyre Festival — Hulu’s brutal, superior “Fyre Fraud” and Netflix’s more self-serving “Fyre” — both tell stories of hubris and entitlement, and of the farcical overreach by Billy MacFarland, the “brains,” such as it was, behind the ill-fated gathering. MacFarland and his team of erstwhile con artists swindled thousands of mostly young, wealthy marks who believed they were buying tickets to an exclusive island adventure — but found only dirt lots, disaster tents and wilted lettuce (though, of course, plenty of booze) when they arrived. It’s easy to chuckle at...

With the finances of disgraced Fyre Festival concert promoter Billy McFarland being questioned, major investors in the concert-turned-fiasco are facing unexpected scrutiny and potential liability for the money lost. Unpaid vendors, employees and attendees of the Bahamas concert that was canceled before it began have filed 11 civil lawsuits, which include six class actions and five private suits, and all will be seeking damages.... ...McFarland was arrested in New York on June 30 and released on $300,000 bail the next day. The 25-year-old entrepreneur was represented by a public defender at the bail hearing, but has since retained Boies Schiller...

A prominent entertainment attorney has filed a $100 million lawsuit against Fyre Festival co-founders Ja Rule and Billy McFarland, alleging fraudulent behavior that cost attendees “thousands of dollars on travel, lodging, and time off work.” Mark Geragos, whose clients have included Michael Jackson, Winona Ryder, and Chris Brown, is representing Daniel Jung, who paid $2,000 to attend the festival. The Wrap reports that the suit describes the post-apocalyptic hell festival goers discovered upon arriving on the island Thursday in detail, including mentions of the “FEMA relief tents” and the lack of security. Also included in the suit is the now-viral...

In this day and age, the young and beautiful live and die on social media. And it’s been a sudden and ugly death for the ill-fated Fyre Festival, a multiday music, art and culture party that promised “an invitation to let loose and unplug with the likeminded” on the Bahamian island of Exuma. The festival’s rise and fall has played out in real time on YouTube and filtered through Facebook, where would-be party goers are putting their anger on display. Instead of photos of boozy good times, people have posted pictures of rows of white tents that look like “Stormtrooper...

Famous models on yachts! Exclusive island once owned by Pablo Escobar! Blink-182! Those were just some of the selling points for Fyre Festival, a supposedly opulent music weekend that was scheduled to begin in the Bahamas on Thursday, with “first-class culinary experiences and a luxury atmosphere,” along with performances by G.O.O.D. Music, Major Lazer, Migos and more. Promoted by Instagram influencers including Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski as a never-before-seen V.I.P. event, the gathering — with weekend ticket packages starting around $1,200 and topping six-figures with extras — was supposed to compete in an increasingly elaborate landscape of...

Full title: Here's what Fyre Festival attendees thought they were getting when they bought $12,000 tickets — and here's the nightmarish reality

Attendees of Fyre Festival thought they were paying for a one-of-a-kind experience when they purchased tickets to what promised to be a lavish affair. Technically, they weren’t wrong – but the unique experience which awaited ticket-holders on the Bahamian festival grounds was a bit different than the luxurious, supermodel-filled affair which they’d been promised. The new festival – run by Ja Rule and Billy McFarland’s Fyre Media company – made headlines upon its announcement through a sponsored content campaign promoted on Instagram by the likes of Kendall Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski, and Bella Hadid. However, what seemed to be a glamorous...