A staffer from Ja Rule and Billy McFarland‘s failed Fyre Festival, that has left hundreds of rich Instagram influencers stranded on a Caribbean island with wild dogs and limited food and water supplies, has hit out at the rapper in a hilarious blog post, saying that the festival was always destined to be a fuck-up, and that the organisers should have known better.
Writing for The Cut, Chloe Gordon says that she was offered a gig as a talent producer for Fyre Fest earlier this year – she’d never heard of it and had no bloody idea what it was, but the job paid “extremely well” and allowed her to travel to the Bahamas, so she took it, as any reasonable person probably would.
She knew something was up the minute she arrived at the festival site for the first time – expecting to see a swanky island retreat fit for millionaires, she found a “development lot covered in gravel with a few tractors scattered around”, with limited space for building the promised tents and stages, and an infestation of sand flies.
Gordon quickly realised that “nothing had been done” in terms of logistics for the festival, which at that point was less than two months away. There was no fully-functioning internet connection, equipment had not yet been organised for the event, vendors had not yet been hired, transport had not yet been arranged, and artists were antsy about getting paid.
It was estimated that a further $50 million was needed to pull off the festival as advertised, and things were so bad that some staff apparently wanted to hold the whole thing over until 2018, but Gordon says they were told by the marketing team “let’s just do it and be legends, man.”
Ja Rule showed up for a “site visit” at one point, but allegedly spent most of it on a yacht nearby, taking snaps for Instagram. Then comes the kicker:
“At this point it was pretty clear that this was a mess and I shared my concerns with the man I reported to. But he assured me that the Fyre execs were legit, and said some socialite was underwriting the whole thing. The budget was okayed and we were told to carry on with our planning. That night Ja Rule gave a toast. “To living like movie stars, partying like rock stars, and fucking like porn stars.” If Ja Rule is punished for anything perhaps it should be that.”
Gordon says she pulled out soon after, when asked if she would take a pay cut, but says she has watched with “dark delight” over the past day as the whole thing has completely fallen apart. You can read her scathing takedown of the “bros” behind the festival here, and you should, because it’s a wild goddamn ride.
Source: The Cut.
Photo: Chance Yeh / Getty.
