Fyre Festival trustee files lawsuits to win back lost millions
The drama that has engulfed Fyre Festival has reignited this week, with news that a Fyre Festival trustee is seeking to win back millions of dollars in fees paid to artists, influencers and various other concerned parties. The unnamed trustee has reportedly filed numerous lawsuits to earn back some of the millions that investors sunk into the nightmare event.
One of the numerous lawsuits names Creative Artist Agency (CAA) who represent multiple artists on the bill including Claptone, Bedouin, Burridge, and Blink-182. The suit requests the return of $US 585,000 that was paid to the company to secure the talent. Of that figure, $US 500,000 was paid to Blink-182 alone.
International Creative Management Partners (ICM Partners) have been named in a seperate suit, with the trustee seeking a refund of $US350,000 that was paid to the company to secure performances from Lil Yachty, Migos and Rae Sremmurd.
United Talent Agency (UTA) have also been hit with a suit to reclaim $US 90,000 paid to UTA for a performance from Skepta. Another lawsuit was filed against Nue Agency who were paid $US 730,000 to provide Pusha T, Desiigner ,and Tyga to the line-up.
The trustee is looking beyond the music lineup for the event to recover loses, with suits also filed against Kendal Jenner, who may need to return the $US 275,000 she was paid to make an Instagram post about the festival, and a similar suit filed against model Emily Ratajkowski who was paid $US 300,000 for her social media support.
The premise behind the multiple suits is that these payments were all made by disgraced Fyre Festival head Billy McFarland to defraud investors and as such, should be voided.
Special blame is levelled at Ratajkowski and Jenner, according to Variety, with investors accusing them of demonstrating a “clear lack of good faith” by failing to list their Fyre Festival related social media activity as sponsored posts.
“Nor did they inform their fans and followers that they ultimately decided not to attend the Festival because of problems with the Festival of which they and their agencies were uniquely aware,” the suits allege.
So far this brings the suits to a collective sum of around $US 2,330,000 but that’s not that the trustee wants returned.
Fyre Festival director Yaron Lavi has also been named in a suit that demands the return of $US 315,000, and a whooping $US 14.4 million is being sought from the festivals parent company Fyre Media, $11 million of which was paid directly to McFarland himself.
McFarland’s fall from grace has been somewhat of a sight to behold. After pleading guilty to federal fraud charges last year, the high-flying playboy-wanna be he is currently serving a six-year prison sentence. His troubles don’t end there, with a fine of $US 26 million in restitution expected to be paid from McFarland.
No doubt we will be hearing all the inside goss from the festival and the fall out when part of the festival team, Andy King, is in town for BIGSOUND next week.
This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.