Documentaries about the disastrous Fyre Festival were recently released on Netflix and Hulu, and they shed light on what is perhaps a less obvious part of that story. Sure, people who bought tickets to the event got screwed over, but so did the Bahamian locals that worked with the Fyre crew. Maryann Rolle — the owner of Exuma Point Resort, which was hired to provide catering for the Fyre fest — made an emotional appearance in the Netflix documentary, in which she revealed that she had to spend $50,000 of her own savings to pay staff.
Before the documentary hit Netflix, Rolle created a GoFundMe page in hopes of recouping some of her losses, and it was a success: As of this posting, the campaign has raised over $130,000 from more than 4,000 donors. Rolle wrote on the page, “As I make this plea it’s hard to believe and embarrassing to admit that I was not paid… I was left in a big hole! My life was changed forever, and my credit was ruined by Fyre Fest. My only resource today is to appeal for help.”
For those worried that this GoFundMe page is another case of Fyre fraud, Fyre documentary producer Gabrielle Bluestone legitimized the campaign by tweeting it:
For those of you asking how to help Maryann Rolle, the Bahamian woman who spent $50,000 of her savings to feed the local laborers who worked on the Fyre Festival, she has an official gofundme page here: https://t.co/eLawHgE92E
— Gabrielle Bluestone (@g_bluestone) January 18, 2019
Read Rolle’s full note from the GoFundMe page below.
“It has been an unforgettable experience catering to the organizers of Fyre Festival. Back in April 2017 I pushed myself to the limit catering no less than a 1000 meals per day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all prepared and delivered by Exuma Point to Coco Plum Beach and Roker’s Point where the main events were scheduled to take place. Organizers would also visit my Exuma Point location to enjoy the prepared meals.
Fyre Fest organizers were also checked into all the rooms at Exuma Point Resort.
As I make this plea it’s hard to believe and embarrassing to admit that I was not paid…I was left in a big hole! My life was changed forever, and my credit was ruined by Fyre Fest.
My only resource today is to appeal for help.
There is an old saying that goes “bad publicity is better than no publicity” and I pray that whoever reads this plea is able to assist.
Thank you,
Elvis and Maryann Rolle
Exuma Point Resort
Great Exuma, Bahamas”
