Fyre Festival 2 is Happening, Says Creator Jailed for Fraud

Fyre Festival will be going ahead once more, according to creator Billy McFarland.

The entrepreneur, who co-founded the luxury fraudulent music festival alongside rapper Ja Rule, sent Twitter into a frenzy on Sunday evening.

"Fyre Festival II is finally happening," he tweeted. "Tell me why you should be invited."

McFarland was at the center of a high-profile scandal after ticketholders were promised a luxury music festival on Pablo Escobar's former private island in the Bahamas. The festival was scheduled to take place in April and May 2017 but was a notorious disaster, having issues with security, accommodation, and food.

The now 31-year-old successfully swindled investors out of millions while pitching the event. In 2018, McFarland pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and was sentenced to six years in prison, though was released early in March 2022. He was also ordered to return $26 million to investors.

In an interview with Good Morning America in November, McFarland said he "messed up."

"I was so driven by this desperate desire to prove people right," he told ABC's Michael Strahan. "I had these early investors, backers, employees and I think I was just so insecure that I thought the only way to prove myself to them was to succeed and that led me down this terrible path of bad decisions."

He said that he "let people down," noting, "I just really should have canceled everything and stopped lying."

McFarland's attorney, Jason Russo, said in May that his client is now focused on repaying the $26 million.

"Any new projects that he does become involved in will be done solely for the purpose of generating the restitution for paying back his victims," Russo said.

By November, McFarland announced his new venture—PYRT, pronounced "pirate." In a video posted to his TikTok account, he explained to his followers that the venture is "not a festival, it's not an event and it's definitely not a metaverse."

He described the project as a remote island bash where artists, entrepreneurs, influencers, and members of the public come together using virtual reality technology. It would be held in the Bahamas or somewhere similar, though the Bahamian government said it's not interested in any of McFarland's future endeavors.

"The public is advised that no application has been made to the Government of The Bahamas for consideration of any event promoted by Billy McFarland or any entity or parties known to be associated with him," Deputy Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Chester Cooper, wrote in a statement in November. "The Government of The Bahamas will not endorse or approve any event in The Bahamas associated with him."

Following his stint in federal prison, McFarland was transferred to a halfway house. His house arrest ended in September.

Do you have a tip on an entertainment story that Newsweek should be covering? Let us know via entertainment@newsweek.com.