Two documentaries recounting the ill-fated Fyre Festival were released over the last week; Hulu’s Fyre Fraud was released just days before Netflix debuted their documentary Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened on the streaming platform. A fitting conclusion to a story where just about nothing goes right, the documentaries follow the rise and fall of Fyre Festival, as well as the festival’s co-creators Billy McFarland and Ja Rule. Now, Ja Rule has denounced both documentaries on Twitter, where he pointed out that the films both paid their sources. “I love how ppl watch a doc and think they have all the answers,” he said
“Hulu PAID BILLY!!! That money should have went to the ppl in the Bahamas,” he wrote on Twitter. “Netflix PAID fuck Jerry who also did the promo for the festival. the docs clearly have Billy at fault but let’s blame the rapper lmao ok.”
Despite the clear attempt to distance himself from the festival, Ja Rule does have a point. Elliot Tebele, the social media star behind Jerry Media and Fuck Jerry, both handled Fyre Festival’s social media strategy and served as executive producer for the Netflix documentary. Hulu’s Fyre Fraud, which was co-produced by Billboard (which owns SPIN), did pay McFarland to appear in the doc. The point was also made by Chris Smith, the director behind the Netflix documentary, who’s been feuding with Hulu over the competing docs.
In the documentaries themselves, Ja Rule can be seen co-directing the festival’s initial marketing campaign. In one clip recorded during the festival’s aftermath, Ja Rule can be heard telling Fyre employees, “That’s not fraud, that’s not fraud. False advertising, maybe.” In the direct aftermath of the festival, the rapper apologized on Twitter, noting that “this is NOT MY FAULT…but I’m taking responsibility.”
In October, Billy McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison on charges of wire and bank fraud after making false statements to investors and sharing fraudulent documents. After initially pleading guilty to two accounts of wire fraud in March, McFarland was ordered to pay $26 million to investors in the festival. See Ja Rule’s tweets below and revisit our review of the competing documentaries here.
I love how ppl watch a doc and think they have all the answers… ??♂️
— Ja Rule (@jarule) January 20, 2019
I had an amazing vision to create a festival like NO OTHER!!! I would NEVER SCAM or FRAUD anyone what sense does that make???
— Ja Rule (@jarule) January 20, 2019
And you still don’t know shit… https://t.co/W2F3VdankQ
— Ja Rule (@jarule) January 20, 2019
@Hulu PAID BILLY!!! That money should have went to the ppl in the Bahamas… @netflix PAID fuck Jerry who also did all the promo for the festival… ? the docs clearly have Billy at fault but let’s blame the rapper lmao ok…
— Ja Rule (@jarule) January 20, 2019
I have receipts!!!
— Ja Rule (@jarule) January 20, 2019