news

Maryann lost $50K because of Fyre Festival. A GoFundMe has now raised $120K for her.

 

It was the glamorous festival that turned into a luxury nightmare.

Thousands of wealthy Americans forked out anywhere from $1,000 to $12,000 to attend an uber exclusive music festival that was marketed to them on Instagram by the likes of Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner.

But when revellers arrived at Fyre Festival, they were met with something very, very different.

There was no gourmet food. One of the big name music acts had already pulled out. And the luxury tents? Yeah, they were just emergency tents… with wet mattresses inside.

Before long the festival was cancelled and thousands of attendees were left scammed out of their money by organisers rapper Ja Rule and entrepreneur Bill McFarland.

But while the festival’s failure is often touted as a ‘first world problem’, the release of new Netflix documentary Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened has put a focus on the festival’s real victims – the Bahamian locals who worked for tens of thousands of hours without ever receiving their pay.

Watch the trailer for Netflix’s Fyre Festival documentary below.

Elvis and Maryann Rolle, whose Great Exuma restaurant fed staff at the festival, lost more than $50,000 in life savings due to the festival scam.

Speaking in the Netflix documentary, Maryann said: “I had ten people working with me directly. They were just preparing food all day and all night, 24 hours. I had to pay all those people. I went through about $50,000 of my savings that I could have had. They just wiped it out, and never looked back.”

ADVERTISEMENT

After the event was cancelled, Maryann and Elvis were never paid.

But there’s good news.

Since the documentary’s release, the couple have launched a GoFundMe page in the hopes of recovering their lost funds.

At the time of publication, the fundraiser has raised over $128,000 for the couple.

"Back in April 2017 I pushed myself to the limit catering no less than 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," Maryann wrote on the fundraising 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."

ADVERTISEMENT

At the time of publication, the fundraiser has raised over $128,000 for the couple.

On the other hand, the festival's organiser, Billy McFarland, is currently serving six years in prison for defrauding investors.

Got January-Dread at the thought of a new year in your current job? Keen to take control of your life and be your own boss? Come and join Mia Freedman for the Lady Startup Activation Plan, an online course where she personally takes you through every step and gives you every resource to go from idea to launch. Enrolments are open for just a few days. Details here.

LSU-Leaderboard