If you’re like me—and the rest of the world—you probably checked out the documentary on Netflix that has been going viral on social media about a music festival that robbed a bunch of rich, entitled, spoiled kids out of their money and pride last year.
Fyre Festival, the “greatest party that never happened,” was a music festival organized by a guy named Billy MacFarland—a millennial with huge dreams and a skill at scamming people out of their money. Billy planned the festival alongside rapper Ja Rule, who somehow got off easily with little to no jail time. Billy, on the other hand, ended up facing time in prison for his wrongdoings.
All in all, throughout the documentary, people saw the chaos that was Fyre Festival. Those who were in charge planned a “huge” event, having influencers, models, and social media starlets support their every move—without having anything actually planned. People spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to travel to The Bahamas for this “lit” event—only to end up in FEMA tents, with no food and water, and no way to get home.
While some felt bad for the kids who lost money—many didn’t. A lot of people online who watched the documentary felt as though the “rich, spoiled kids” who could afford this trip got what they deserved. Many, however, were bothered by the situation involving one restaurant owner and how she got scammed out of thousands.
Maryann Rolle owns a bar in The Bahamas that Billy and his crew decided to dump responsibility on for catering and providing food very last minute while they were doing insane damage control from their f**ked up lie. Rolle said that she worked “24-hour shifts” trying to feed over 1,000 people. However, Rolle said she never saw a dime from Billy or the team. Instead, she had to pay her workers and staff out of her own savings—over $50,000.
People online were outraged.
Maryanne Rolle, JR and the other Bahamians who were subjected to this ???????? so cruel no one deserves this shit – of course (colours) locals get shit on, this is just how history works #FyreFestival
— Sabah Malik (@sabahbanomalik) January 21, 2019
Watched the Fyre Festival doc on Netflix and honestly it’s terrible to see how many lives this guy ruined. It was tough hearing Maryanne Rolle explaining she lost her life savings.
— Trash Bandicoot (@WillCubed) January 20, 2019
You know what really got me while watching the #FyreFestival #Netflix docu? It's the locals in Bahamas who worked nonstop for days and not getting paid. Maryanne who lost all her savings of $50k to pay her people — that broke my heart. Maybe @KendallJenner can chip in?
— Christie Bacal-Mayencourt (@Chinkai) January 19, 2019
The only people from the Fyre festival fiasco that I care about are the unpaid locals, Miss Maryann, and some of the other employees. So there is that.
— demented domme (@carissarho) February 1, 2019
Yo @Ruleyork why not pay Maryanne Rolle her money back? #FyreFestival
— Mike (@Ballzgotw8) January 28, 2019
That #fyrenetflix doc is great, fail to prepare etc #FyreFestival Maryann Rolle was the hero of the story.
— Anne Mc Coy (@annemccoy) January 19, 2019
Many people online discovered that MaryAnn had set up a GoFundMe page to try and make her money back. And, before she knew it, people were sharing it everywhere.
Here's the @GoFundMe page for the #FyreFestival restaurant owner, Maryann Rolle: https://t.co/DszX436WbI
— MJ (@MelissaSaysHi) January 24, 2019
For those of you asking how to help Maryann Rolle, the Bahamian woman who spent $50,000 of her savings to feed the local laborers who worked on the Fyre Festival, she has an official gofundme page here: https://t.co/eLawHgE92E
— Gabrielle Bluestone (@g_bluestone) January 18, 2019
And, it turns out, MaryAnn raised over $200,000 from people all over the world that watched the documentary, saw her story, and wanted to help her out.
The Fyre Festival was one of the biggest music industry scams, and Maryann Rollelost $50,000 of her own savings to pay her restaurant staff and prepare more than 1,000 meals per day. Rolle's GoFundMe campaign has raised nearly $210,000! #positivemedia https://t.co/fUDufdAJpC
— The American Dream (@AMERICANDREAMTV) January 30, 2019
Finally, a happy ending.