The founder of Fyre Festival, Billy McFarland, is reportedly planning a comeback by self-releasing his memoirs this spring.
According to New York Magazine, McFarland has been handwriting his memoirs from prison, where he is currently serving a six-year sentence for multiple charges of fraud.
The “luxury” Fyre Festival was held in the Bahamas last April with some fans paying upwards of £1,200 for tickets. However, the event was cancelled and many were left stranded on the island with very basic food and makeshift accommodation.
Now, New York Magazine have reported that McFarland’s girlfriend, Anastasia Eremenko, contacted an editor informing them of McFarland’s plans to release a memoir. Eremenko is said to have been transcribing the book from McFarland’s handwritten pages.
Its provisional, mis-spelt title is Promythus: God of Fyre, and will “chronicle his career from the first investment in a now-shuttered start-up back in 2011 to the FBI paying him a visit days after the festival imploded.”
McFarland also said he plans to share stories about “members of the Trump administration” and detail how he felt documentaries from Hulu and Netflix misrepresented him.
SCOOP: I got an inside look at Billy McFarland's plans to self-publish the memoir he's written since going to prison. https://t.co/lzesNItFY8
— Madison Malone Kircher (@4evrmalone) May 3, 2019
What's it called, you ask? Promythus: God of Fyre. (Yes, that's spelled right. Yes, my copyeditor asked me to confirm this several times because she's the best.) https://t.co/E4rZZAzicY
— Madison Malone Kircher (@4evrmalone) May 3, 2019
Cameos include Jordan Belfort, Molly Bloom, Walter Isaacson, Andy King (the FF doc meme guy), and, uh, … Ryan Seacrest!!! https://t.co/E4rZZAzicY
— Madison Malone Kircher (@4evrmalone) May 3, 2019
Oh my god I forgot … additional cameo by Dennis Rodman because why not!!! https://t.co/lzesNItFY8
— Madison Malone Kircher (@4evrmalone) May 3, 2019
Fyre festival guy found a new way to cash in. Actualy title: Promythus, God of Fyre https://t.co/CraNK3mv3x
— Christopher Mims ? (@mims) May 3, 2019
"When reached for comment, Isaacson asked who Billy McFarland and Brandon Rubinshtein were." https://t.co/aidTLLdcLS
— Maggie Coughlan (@MaggieCoughlan) May 3, 2019
McFarland has reportedly also claimed that he found inspiration in Jordan Belfort, who was sent to prison in 1999 for stock manipulation. Belfort’s own memoir, The Wolf of Wall Street, was later turned into a film by Martin Scorsese and starred Leonardo DiCaprio.
McFarland is due from release in 2024 and has been ordered to pay over $26 million in compensation to those affected by the festival’s losses. His book, he claims, will help to pay these damages.
Meanwhile, it was recently revealed that model agencies that work with supermodels Hailey Bieber, Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski may have subpoenas issued to them over payments alleged to have been made by McFarland.
The potential summons are part of a broader effort to establish what happened to the $11.3 million paid out by McFarland, ahead of the festival’s run dates. According to officials, McFarland raised $26 million from investors overall.
A judge has also green-lit subpoenas for talent agencies including Paradigm for information on $1.4 million in payments for artists booked to play Fyre Festival. Some of the artists advertised on the festival bill included Major Lazer, Blink-182 and Disclosure.