Fyre meme sensation Andy King is reuniting with fraudster Billy McFarland for Fyre Festival II. The event planner — who became internet famous when he talked about his, um, dedication for trying to make the disastrous event actually happen — confirmed to Yahoo Entertainment he’s back for the new iteration.
“I look forward to working with Billy and our partners to share FYRE with the world,” he said over email on Tuesday. “I’m so grateful to have support to help us execute the ultimate redemption.”
King wouldn’t elaborate on their partners (or their plan for ultimate redemption), but added a formal announcement will be coming soon.
Over the weekend, McFarland revealed that Fyre Festival II will take place sometime next year in the Caribbean. There are no dates, except that it’s “targeted for the end of 2024,” lineup or location listed — other than the “Caribbean Sea.” There’s already a disclaimer on the official website that “FFII date is subject to change.” Even with Fyre’s disastrous history, the first drop sold out, per the website.
McFarland shared Tuesday on Instagram that “all ticket sales will be held in escrow until the final date” for the festival is confirmed.
The first 100 tickets were the cheapest people could buy, starting at $499 and going up to $7,999. One hundred people clearly put their trust in McFarland, who was released from prison last year as he was convicted of fraud for throwing the ill-fated 2017 event that left concertgoers stranded in the Bahamas. He served almost four years of a six year sentence.
In a YouTube video posted with the announcement, McFarland credited solitary confinement with helping him come up with FFII.
“It has been the absolute wildest journey to get here, and it really all started during a seventh-month stint in solitary confinement. I wrote out this 50-page plan of how it would take this overall interest and demand in Fyre and how it would take my ability to bring people from around the world together to make the impossible happen,” he shared, thanking the “best partners in the world.”
It’s unclear if Ja Rule is among those partners, but it doesn’t sound like it. The rapper was an original co-founder, but was dismissed from $100 million class-action lawsuit filed by Fyre Festival attendees. In April, he told People he wouldn’t be involved should the event be revived.
“I don’t know nothing about it!” he exclaimed. “I don’t know nothing about it. I ain’t in it!”
A rep for the musician didn’t respond to Yahoo’s request for comment.
The first iteration of Fyre Festival was branded as the ultimate luxury music concert. Blink-182 and Migos were among the alleged performers and the “exclusive” event was promoted by influencers and models, including Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber. Any guests who were able to arrive at the private island were met with practically no food, shelter or music. Many travelers became stranded after spending thousands of dollars.
Fyre Festival was the subject of dueling Netflix and Hulu documentaries. King became a social media star following Netflix’s Fyre, in which he revealed just how far he’d go to secure water for festivalgoers. King, who is openly gay, claimed McFarland asked him to give oral sex to a customs official and he was “fully prepared” to do so.
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