Billy McFarland, convicted fraudster and founder of the Fyre Festival – which went so spectacularly wrong it earned itself a Netflix documentary charting the disaster – has clapped back at the Mexican tourism board, which recently claimed it had “no knowledge” of a purported second edition of the festival due to take place in three months time.
The second edition of the Fyre Festival – if you can even call the first one the “first edition” – is due to take place from 30 May to 2 June at Isla Mujeres, a tropical island off Cancún, Mexico. Tickets went on sale this week, with prices ranging from $1,400 to $25,000, and premium packages being sold as high as $1.1 million.
The only issue is both the Mexican tourism board and hotels supposed to be offering accommodation claim they have heard nothing about the event.
Now, McFarland has posted a lengthy video statement to Instagram in an attempt to reassure those who doubt the legitimacy of his Fyre reboot.
“First, Fyre 2 is real,” he says. “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 [fuck] around. There is no way they would ever take on a fake festival.”
McFarland stops short of naming a single one of these “incredible partners”, or the “incredible production team” in Mexico.
He goes on: “Three, we have accommodations. Naturally, this was 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 who were contacted by the media, and in response gave misleading statements saying they’d 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 who are eager to work with and support Fyre.
“Four, we have talent. Artists, athletes and other performers are on board and scheduled for Fyre 2.” Again, McFarland doesn’t mention the names of any of these artists or performers scheduled, despite the event being three months away.
He continues: “Five, restitution is being paid. Since being released 30 months ago, I’ve made 40 payments to restitution. I’ve also made it my mission to do more than legally required. Part of this has been giving a large percentage of Fyre 2’s budget and profits directly to restitution.”
He concludes: “My partners and I have remained in communication with local and state governments 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 of the wrongs.”
The comments on the post certainly don’t make it seem like people believe him en masse. One user writes: “Billy, pack it up. No one believes you and this just looks like another wild scam.”
Another, who claims to live in Isla Mujeres and owns an events company on the island, says “everything he is saying is a lie”.
“There is not going to be a festival here,” they say. “The hotels weren’t cancelled by him – he never had them to begin with. The government hasn’t been contacted for anything- and now they will not touch this event, and no one here wants this event associated with the island.
“For those who don’t know, the island is five miles long and at its widest point is less than a mile wide. We don’t even have hotels or businesses here that can hold events even half this size. I think this dude literally closed his eyes, pointed to a spot on a map & was like ‘Okay, I landed on Isla Mujeres, let’s run with it.’ This video is laughable!”
