It’s been nearly four years since Fyre Festival — touted as an ultra-luxurious, VIP music festival in the Bahamas — turned into a hilarious disaster, with wealthy influencers and attendees essentially paying $12,000 apiece to sleep on the beach in FEMA disaster-relief tents and eat the cheese sandwich seen ’round the world. Now, 277 attendees of the ill-fated event will finally receive some financial compensation for the ordeal.
As the New York Times reports, a $2 million class-action settlement was reached on Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York between festival organizers and those 277 ticket-holders. Each attendee will receive roughly $7,220. And while, yes, obviously they were scammed and led into a Lord of the Flies-meets-Woodstock cosplay scenario, it’s admittedly a little hard to stomach the idea of some of Fyre Festival’s more insufferable guests — including the types of people who were willing to throw down $12,000 on a weekend music festival in order to secure a little internet clout — getting another big check. But as much as we hate to admit it, it’s obvious that they’re entitled to some compensation, and Ben Meiselas, the lawyer representing the 277 attendees, seems pleased with the results.
“Billy went to jail, ticket holders can get some money back, and some very entertaining documentaries were made,” Meiselas told the Times, referring to Fyre Festival organizer Billy McFarland, who is currently serving a six-year jail sentence for his role in the debacle after pleading guilty to wire fraud. “Now that’s justice.”
Is it though? $7,220 is pocket change to these folks. Could that money not be put to better use by paying the many Bahamian workers who labored tirelessly to try to make the festival happen only to be stiffed by McFarland? (Several GoFundMe accounts raised funds for those workers in 2019 in the wake of Fyre Festival documentaries by Hulu and Netflix, but honestly, they shouldn’t have to rely on the kindness of strangers to get what they deserve; they, more than anyone, should be entitled to some settlement cash as well.)
Anyway, it turns out those Fyre Festival attendees waiting on their big checks shouldn’t hold their breath. The Times reports that the amount each individual ticket-holder actually receives could be ultimately be significantly lower than the agreed-upon $7,220 “depending on the outcome of Fyre’s bankruptcy case with other creditors.” A hearing to approve the $2 million settlement is currently scheduled for May 13.
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