Over a year ago, the creators of Fyre Festival landed in a web of legal trouble and dismay. The event was set to launch over the course of two weekends in April and May in the Bahamas, but logistics and lack of organization led to its last-minute cancellation.
Due to an outpour of dissatisfaction from ticket-holders to social media users, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stepped in to sort out legal matters and reached a fraud settlement with the festival’s founder, Billy McFarland. Alongside McFarland, rapper Ja Rule was also on the board and recently spoke on the Drink Champs podcast about his involvement.
“I didn’t make a dollar out of any of that,” he said. “My main lesson that I learned out of that is never give nobody the keys to your motherfu**ing car. You can get in it, but you can’t drive.” The “Always On Time” artist also wished he was more hands-on with the planning and execution.
“I’m not a ni**a that likes to put blame or throw people under the bus…I should’ve been more on top of things,” he shared. “I should’ve not trusted people in certain things. And maybe, I’m positive things wouldn’t have been like that. That part of it I take all responsibility and I wish I wasn’t running around on tour and moving around doing things and not in the office and not being on top of the whole situation the way I should’ve been.” Fyre Festival’s fallout even inspired a Hulu docuseries that’s set for release in 2019. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “inside sources that range from local Bahamians, stranded festivalgoers, vendors and investors” will provide exclusive commentary on what went wrong.
READ MORE: Ya Don’t Say: Ja Rule Says Fyre Fest Partner Bamboozled Him