Celebrities Sued by Fyre Fest Trustee Over Failed Event

The trustee in the Fyre Festival bankcrupty case is still trying to recoop the funds investors lost from the failed event in 2017. In an attempt to get some money back, the trustee has sued a handful of celebrities involved in the promotion of the festival.

One lawsuit is seeking funds from punk-rock band blink-182, as well as models Kendall Jenner and Emily Ratajkowski. blink-182 was supposed to headline the event, while Jenner and Ratajkowski promoted the festival via their social media channels. The trustee is seeking $500,000 from blink-182 for their headlining slot, $275,000 from Jenner for an Instagram post and $300,000 from Ratajkowski for an Instagram post. According to Variety, the suit notes that both Jenner and Ratajkowski acted with a “clear lack of good faith,” since they did not specify that their posts were sponsored. Additionally, neither women informed their followers that they would not be attending the festival amid its demise.

CAA, the agency that represents blink-182, as well as other acts set to play at the festival like Claptone, Bedouin, and Burridge, were also named as defendants and are being sued for $585,000. ICM Partners, which represents Lil Yachty, Migos, and Rae Sremmurd, are being asked to return $350,000, and UTA are being asked to shell out $90,000 that was paid to Skepta. The trustee is also seeking $730,000 from Nue Agency, who had been paid to deliver Pusha T, Desiigner, and Tyga, along with $315,000 from the festival organizer Yaron Levi. A handful of other suits were also filed with vendors, ticketing companies, catering companies, and a yacht company that was paid to appear at the festival.

Billy McFarland, the founder of Fyre Fest, pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in 2018 and is currently serving a six-year prison term. However, he still owes $26 million in restitution to investors and ticket vendors. He has been sued by countless attendees, including two people who were awarded $5 million for their compensatory and punitive damages. While he is in jail, investors have been trying to make money back any way they can – there’s even been an auction for limited edition Fyre Fest merchandise.

Fyre Fest, set to take place in 2017, was portrayed as a luxury event — a getaway on a private island in the Bahamas with models, huge headlining artists, expensive villas, and chef cuisine. However, this never played out how McFarland had intended, as thousands of attendees were met with a bare beach, no musicians, hurricane tents, and boxed lunches. The infamous festival has sparked attention across the globe, and two documentaries were released via Netflix and Hulu, outlining the events leading up to Fyre Fest.