The now infamous Fyre Festival debacle has a new twist. A California man is suing the organizers of the "luxury" festival, which was hyped up via glamorous Instagram posts by the likes of Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and Hailey Baldwin. Festival goers paid thousands of dollars to attend the weekend-long "cultural moment created from a blend of music, art and food."
After Fyre imploded before the first band could take the stage, apologies were issued on behalf of the organizers, citing "the infrastructure for a festival of this magnitude needed to be built from the ground up," as one of the reasons for what Twitter and attendees were likening to The Lord Of The Flies and The Hunger Games.
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Yesterday was a very challenging day for us + our guests. But we would like to fully explain what happened. Details: https://t.co/d0FoaRMb5t
— Fyre Festival (@fyrefestival) April 29, 2017
Co-planner Ja Rule took a moment to post this note to his Twitter addressing people's accusations of fraud saying, "I wanted this to be an amazing event it was NOT A SCAM as everyone is reporting."
— Ja Rule (@Ruleyork) April 28, 2017
Bella Hadid made a statement on her Twitter supporting the festival claiming that while, "this was not my project what so ever, nor was I informed about the production or process of the festival in any shape or form, I do know that it has always been out of great intent and they truly wanted all of us to have the time of our lives."
❤️... pic.twitter.com/5XqHXBGIn9
— Bella Hadid (@bellahadid) April 29, 2017
Now, a major lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Daniel Jung in California against Ja Rule and other festival co-creator, Billy McFarland. The class-action suit, which anticipates "more than 150" plaintiffs, accuses the two men of fraud to the tune of $100 million for the “festival’s lack of adequate food, water, shelter and medical care created a dangerous and panicked situation among attendees — suddenly finding themselves stranded on a remote island without basic provisions — that was closer to The Hunger Games or Lord of the Flies than Coachella.”
According to a report from Variety, the suit is being represented by high profile, celebrity attorney Mark Geragos, who has represented Michael Jackson, Winona Ryder, and Kesha in the past.
In their official statement, Fyre Festival promised full refunds to everyone who bought tickets to the festival. An important detail not to be missed was their additional offer of "free VIP passes to next year's festival" for all the guests from this year which begs the question – wait, next year? Yes: "After speaking with our potential partners, we have decided to add more seasoned event experts to the 2018 Fyre Festival, which will take place at a United States beach venue."