Billy McFarland, the bad brain behind the disastrous Fyre Festival, is out of prison — and he already appears to be setting up his next scheme. In a new TikTok, after joining the platform, McFarland has uploaded new teasers… for something?
In 2017, McFarland’s Fyre Fest (and event co-runner Ja Rule) defrauded investors. Initially promoted by influencers on social media, including the likes of Kendall Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski, and Bella Hadid, the actual festival faced intense struggles related to safety and security. By October 2018, after pleading guilty, McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison and a $26 million penalty. There were also additional class action lawsuits for organizers, to the tune of $2 million. McFarland was released from prison back in March and transferred to a halfway house. His house arrest ended in September.
McFarland has now noted that the next update will arrive in November and that “everyone is invited.” He is remaining relatively cryptic about what many suspect is another music festival attempt. (Per TMZ, “sources with direct knowledge” say McFarland is “creating another festival, among other things in the near future.”) Or, at the very least, a strange scavenger hunt for his next business venture. He also made a YouTube page, which features a video titled “RLTH Clue #1” and a short titled “Comment what you think I’m working on.”
The odd clue video includes a woman swimming in the ocean with fish and a strange bottle before flashing to what appears to be an island. Others commented with questions the general public might wonder: What is that bottle? Why are there sharks?
As for McFarland’s short, he drew a “F*ck around, find out” chart on a whiteboard behind him. “As you might know, I f*cked around and because of that, I definitely found out,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve had a little too much time to think about this. But I do feel like the moment is right to start making this up to everybody.”
“You might have guessed, but I’m working on something new,” he continued as he draws on a strange map. “This time, it’s a little crazier, but a whole lot bigger than anything I’ve ever tried before.”
Watch McFarland’s cryptic video above.