Yesterday, Billy McFarland announced that he’d be returning with a Fyre Festival II, shortly after being released from prison for what occurred during the first one.
For those who don’t recall or hadn’t heard of the first one, McFarland attempted to host a music festival on an island, using celebrity endorsements to sell tickets. (He paid Kendall Jenner $250,000 to reportedly post about it, as just one example.) However, as guests arrived, it was more like a scene out of Lost, rather than a luxurious event. The artists on the lineup, including Blink-182, Migos, and more, had already canceled their appearances.
The disastrous attempt cost investors $26 million and earned McFarland a six-year prison sentence, of which he served about four.
When asked why in the world McFarland would think it was a good idea to try this again, he answered, “It’s in the best interest of those I owe for me to be working. People aren’t getting paid back if I sit on the couch and watch tv. And because I served my time.”
it's in the best interest of those I owe for me to be working. people aren't getting paid back if i sit on the couch and watch tv.
and because i served my time.
— Billy McFarland (@pyrtbilly) April 11, 2023
“I was wrong,” McFarland also said last year during a Good Morning America interview. “I messed up. I was so driven by this desperate desire to prove people right. I had these early investors, backers, employees, and I think I was just so insecure that I thought the only way to prove myself to them was to succeed and that led me down this terrible path of bad decisions.”
Late last year, he was also reportedly hosting something called PYRT (pronounced Pirate) that was supposed to be a virtual festival. But why have that when you can have a real thing?
As to who exactly would attend Fyre Fest II this time around, I guess we’ll have to see.
Blink-182 is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
