Ja Rule Apologizes for Fyre Festival Disaster, Says It Was “NOT A SCAM”

“I truly apologize as this is NOT MY FAULT... but I’m taking responsibility. I’m deeply sorry to everyone who was inconvenienced by this.”
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Fyre Festival, a new luxury fest due to launch in the Bahamas this weekend, was postponed this morning after attendees reported a chaotic festival site. Now, festival co-creator Ja Rule has addressed the situation. In a note on Twitter, which he says is not his official statement, he writes, “We are working right now on getting everyone of [sic] the island SAFE. That is my immediate concern.” He adds, “I’m heartbroken at this moment. My partners and I wanted this to be an amazing event. It was NOT A SCAM.” In addition to promising refunds, he continues, “I truly apologize as this is NOT MY FAULT... but I’m taking responsibility. I’m deeply sorry to everyone who was inconvenienced by this.” See the note below.

Ja Rule’s post follows the Bahama Ministry of Tourism’s official statement on Fyre Festival. “We offered advice and assisted with communications with other government agencies,” they wrote. “The event organizers assured us that all measures were taken to ensure a safe and successful event but clearly they did not have the capacity to execute an event of this scale.” Read their statement below.

The festival, for which weekend tickets were priced from $1,000 to $12,000, was postponed after organizers “assessed the situation” and realized they couldn’t “move forward as [they] hoped [they] could.” Signs of problems began to emerge yesterday, when ticket-holders arrived at a seemingly half-finished campsite. Blink-182 soon cancelled, and planes scheduled for the festival were grounded, reportedly because the island was over capacity. Multiple festival-goers already there reported underwhelming conditions: unstable accommodation, haphazard luggage distribution, and “luxury tents” seemingly designed for disaster relief.

Entrepreneur Billy McFarland, who created the fest with Ja Rule, has not yet publicly commented. Read Fyre Festival-goers’ stories here.

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