Fyre Festival 2: Fraudster's Mexico redo raises red flags about social media fads, former designer warns

FIRST ON FOX – The erstwhile societal media decorator for Fyre Festival says societal media is fueling the idolization of scammers and their chaotic ideas — Fyre Festival 2 being nary exception.

Oren Aks spoke with Fox News Digital aft the evident postponement of Fyre Festival 2, a do-over mentation of the archetypal Fyre Festival, which failed successful 2017 aft promising attendees who paid thousands for tickets a luxurious euphony festival acceptable successful the Bahamas and delivering a ramshackle campsite connected the land instead.

Fyre Festival 2 was acceptable to instrumentality spot successful Playa del Carmen, Mexico, betwixt May 30 and June 2, but 1 of its partners, ticketing institution SoldOut.com, confirmed to Fox News Digital past week that the lawsuit had been postponed and it was refunding tickets for the event.

"I deliberation the bigger question present is … wherefore is this truthful fascinating to radical to support going astatine it? Again, it's conscionable due to the fact that it's a large meme. So, due to the fact that it is simply a meme, it keeps memeing, and we're conscionable reinventing the meme," Aks said. "So, I get that successful presumption of similar popular culture."

FYRE FESTIVAL 2 ‘POSTPONED’ AFTER MEXICO PLANS DERAILED, TICKET VENDOR ISSUES REFUNDS

Fyre Festival attendees de-board a tiny level that reads "Fyre Festival" connected its broadside successful the Bahamas successful 2017. (Stephanie Farr)

In different words, radical are treating Fyre Festival 2 similar a large wrong joke. The archetypal festival's nonaccomplishment inspired documentaries connected Hulu and Netflix, and immoderate privation to beryllium successful connected the chaos if it fails a 2nd time, Aks explained.

Others judge Fyre Festival's creator, 33-year-old Billy McFarland, is simply a visionary and privation to springiness him a 2nd accidental aft helium was convicted and sentenced to service respective years successful situation for fraud pursuing the 2017 event.

FYRE FESTIVAL ORGANIZERS PROMISE ‘SUCCESSFUL’ MEXICO EVENT AFTER OFFICIALS' CONCERNING ADVISORY

William 'Billy' McFarland, organizer of the Fyre Festival, exits the U.S. Federal Court successful Manhattan pursuing his presentment connected ligament fraud charges successful New York City, U.S., July 1, 2017.  (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)

"For me, the worldview of this communicative doesn't marque sense," Aks said. "I've heard from having conversations with radical passim the years that … helium is conscionable a hardworking entrepreneur and that this is conscionable to make accidental to person amusive successful the making and they can't hold for it to beryllium done right. So … if you're going retired determination for that, bully luck. If you are going for having a bully laugh, it indispensable beryllium bully that you person wealth to question for a bully laugh."

FYRE FEST FRAUDSTER'S REDO LOOKS LIKE ‘NEW DISASTER’ FOR TROPICAL MUSIC BASH: EXPERT

The archetypal Fyre Festival's 2017 nonaccomplishment landed Billy McFarland down bars. (Stephanie Farr)

He continued: "Either way, I don't deliberation it's happening anymore from what I work past week, but if it does, it conscionable won't beryllium applicable again. I don't cognize if you noticed, adjacent Coachella this twelvemonth was … cipher was posting."

"These things conscionable don't substance anymore."

When Aks joined the Fyre Festival squad 8 years ago, helium worked for Jerry Media, which handled graphic plan and societal media strategy for the archetypal festival. Aks said helium was excited astir the task due to the fact that helium had a inheritance moving successful the euphony manufacture and was passionate astir euphony festivals.

There was "writing connected the wall" earlier the festival began that should person indicated the lawsuit would beryllium a disaster, from recognition cards bouncing to Fyre Festival's partners being near retired of the loop connected logistical planning, Aks said.

Fyre Festival attendees who paid thousands for tickets successful 2017 were promised big-name euphony acts similar Blink 182 that ne'er played astatine the event. (Stephanie Farr)

He recalled the infinitesimal helium knew things were going south.

"When we arrived, the constituent wherever it truly deed maine was really … going implicit this elevation and benignant of descending into the vale wherever the formation country wherever the festival was taking spot and seeing the tents and the existent media halfway signifier country and … thing was there," helium said. "…In my brain, the logistics didn't enactment out, but I conscionable assumed that's conscionable not my territory. I'm the graphic designer, I'm definite they've got similar an designer oregon … idiosyncratic dealing with that. But past I saw the FEMA oregon the UN-style tents, and that was the infinitesimal it each hit."

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Oren Aks said it "hit him" that Fyre Festival was a nonaccomplishment successful 2017 erstwhile helium arrived successful the Bahamas and saw rows of FEMA-style tents wherever guests were promised luxury villas. (Stephanie Farr)

In the property of societal media, Aks said, the nationalist makes icons retired of scammers similar Anna Delvey and adjacent execution suspects similar Luigi Mangione.

"We look astatine them similar they're iconic, like, ‘Oh what’s she wearing to court?' And … astatine a definite point, you're conscionable much obsessed with them arsenic this communicative that you've built alternatively than who they really are. … If you met Billy, you wouldn't beryllium impressed," Aks said.

CONVICTED FYRE FESTIVAL FRAUDSTER RETURNS, CHARGING $1M TICKETS TO MUSIC EVENT

Anna Delvey leaves her New York City flat successful the East Village for a imaginable tribunal day connected Oct. 11, 2022.  (splash / SplashNews.com)

Aks added that the public, particularly the American public, does not speech astir the occurrence stories of millionaire and billionaire concern moguls successful the aforesaid mode the nationalist discusses scammers and "money grubbers," peculiarly connected societal media.

"We glorify the bad, the scammy, the evil, and we look astatine those radical arsenic heroes."

"It utilized to beryllium … this inspirational way you would instrumentality successful your vocation to benignant of determination up a ladder oregon gain a surviving and bargain a location oregon something. Now, we vilify those people, and we glorify the bad, the scammy, the evil, and we look astatine those radical arsenic heroes," Aks said. "Like benignant icons oregon state fighters, oregon immoderate different imaginary rubric you privation to delegate them. And I deliberation it's, well, it's precise worrying arsenic a societal shift. … Why are we doing this?"

Nearly bare plates of snacks seen beside integrative tables astatine Fyre Festival successful 2017. (Stephanie Farr)

Aks said helium believes McFarland hasn't lived his "15 minutes of fame" yet aft the archetypal Fyre Festival, and helium is inactive moving to execute designation for Fyre Festival 2.

Fyre Festival 2 did not respond to Fox News Digital's questions astir a postponement, and thing connected the event's website oregon societal media pages mentioned thing astir changed plans.

CONVICTED FYRE FEST FRAUDSTER BILLY MCFARLAND'S RETURN TO MEXICO ‘SOUNDS LIKE A TICKING TIME BOMB’: EXPERT

Rows of tents seen astatine Fyre Festival successful 2017. (Stephanie Farr)

Earlier this month, Fyre Festival organizers fired backmost astatine Playa del Carmen's connection saying the Mexican city's authorities had nary cognition of the event.

FYRE FEST FRAUDSTER'S REDO LOOKS LIKE ‘NEW DISASTER’ FOR TROPICAL MUSIC BASH: EXPERT

"FYRE has been moving straight with the authorities of Playa del Carmen (PDC) and their officials since March 5, 2025, to guarantee a harmless and palmy event," organizers said.

Fyre Fest laminitis Billy McFarland is successful the process of readying a comeback with Fyre Festival 2, which was primitively scheduled to instrumentality spot successful Isla Mujeres, Mexico, betwixt May 30 and June 2 but has since been moved to Playa del Carmen, Mexico.  (iStock)

"All media reports suggesting our squad has not been moving with the authorities of PDC are simply inaccurate and based connected misinformation," the connection reads, on with screenshots and photos of "relevant permits, payments, and communications" with Playa del Carmen officials. "FYRE has operated arsenic a bully spouse with PDC authorities and has followed the due processes and procedures to lawfully big an event."

McFarland besides posted a video of a property league helium and his squad held successful Playa del Carmen connected March 28, which included authorities representatives from the area. 

A photograph of the sandwiches that were served astatine Fyre Festival successful 2017. (Stephanie Farr)

The connection came successful effect to Playa del Carmen's societal media station saying that "[i]n effect to rumors astir a expected lawsuit called ‘Fyre 2,’ we pass you that nary lawsuit of that sanction volition beryllium held successful Playa del Carmen."

It was the 2nd connection from a authorities entity denying the festival's beingness since March. The lawsuit was primitively scheduled to instrumentality spot successful Isla Mujeres, Mexico, betwixt those dates, but it precocious moved to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, aft Isla Mujeres said Fyre Festival organizers had not requested permits successful the fashionable abrogation town.

Two women airs arsenic if they are warring implicit a container of h2o astatine Fyre Festival successful 2017. (Stephanie Farr)

Tickets for Fyre Festival 2 commencement astatine $1,400 per idiosyncratic for wide admittance and spell up from there. The astir costly summons sells for much than $1 cardinal and offers backstage aerial and yacht travel, luxury villa accommodations and festival entree implicit 4 days to 8 people.

In 2017, Fyre Festival guests arrived successful the Bahamas to find bare-bones tents erstwhile they were promised luxury accommodations; cheap, boxed meals erstwhile they were promised a high-end culinary experience; unclean port-o-potties; and canceled euphony acts that they paid to spot implicit the people of the festival.

WATCH FYRE FESTIVAL FOUNDER BILLY MCFARLAND SPEAK WITH JESSE WATTERS:

The archetypal Fyre Fest promised euphony acts including Blink 182, Migos and different artists; personage exemplary attendees, including the Hadid sisters and Emily Ratajkowski; luxury accommodations and good food, with tickets ranging from $1,200 to implicit $100,000. 

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After the festival's failure, it went viral connected societal media erstwhile Hulu and Netflix published documentaries astir the failed formation bash, making the #fyrefraud hashtag spell viral astatine the time.

The festival reached a colony with 277 summons holders successful 2021, erstwhile it was ordered to wage each recipient an grant of $7,220.