Under Fyre: Event organizers hit with big lawsuit
Saturday, 02 May, 2017
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Festival-goers in their thousands were left stranded on an island in the Bahamas after the event was cancelled at the last minute.
That has brought major criticism for the shambolic organization of the event and a lawsuit.
American rapper Ja Rule and his business partner Billy McFarland, who promoted the Fyre Festival, are being sued for $100 million by one of the attendees for fraud, negligent representation and breach of contract.
The pair apologized and promised refunds to all ticket-holders.
Daniel Jung, who filed the class action lawsuit, has accused them of ‘an outrageous failure to prepare’.
Ticket holders, who had paid from $1,200 to over $100,000 to the two-weekend event on Great Exuma island arrived to find that there wasn’t enough accommodations to house them all and there were insufficient provisions.
Tents – advertised as ‘beach cabanas’ – had not been erected, guests’ luggage went missing and the ‘gourmet’ meals advertised consisted of cheese sandwiches.
After hearing of the lack of facilities for festival goers the government reportedly cancelled some flights to the island, performers pulled out and the organizers then pulled the plug.
"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," the court filing said.
"The Fyre Festival was nothing more than a get-rich-quick scam from the very beginning," it alleged.
In a letter posted on its website over the weekend, Fyre organizers said ‘the team was overwhelmed’.
"They simply weren’t ready for what happened next, or how big this thing would get," it said.
Ja Rule also posted on social media that he was ‘heartbroken,’ insisting the event was not a scam.
"I truly apologize as this is not my fault… but I’m taking responsibility," he tweeted.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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