Fyre Fest Allegedly Sent Cease-And-Desist Letters To Twitter Haters

For fans of schadenfreude, Fyre Festival has been the gift that keeps on giving, much like these Twitter videos of a deflating dancing Pikachu getting carted off by security. Since Ja Rule's special festival for models, rich people, and aspiring rich people on the private Bahaman island of Fyre Cay spectacularly collapsed last month, disgruntled attendees have filed a number of lawsuits against organizers. And the most recent class-action suit's got one doozy of a revelation in it—it alleges the Fyre Festival crew sent cease-and-desist letters to folks calling Fyre out on social media. Which, considering most of us lived out the full FYRE DRAMA on Twitter, means they probably dumped a lot of money on legal fees, not that they've proved themselves particularly financially shrewd thus far. No matter!

A North Carolinian couple just filed the latest class action lawsuit against Fyre Festival co-founders Ja Rule and Billy McFarland, marking the sixth such suit filed since the festival fell apart in April. The couple, Kenneth and Emily Reel, allege they spent $4,600 on VIP tickets they were never able to use; like many ticketholders, they were unable to make it to the island. Their class action seeks $5 million from the organizers and the festival's PR agency, 42West, claiming the festival was fraudulently advertised. "Defendants sold tickets for a music festival of unparalleled luxury," the suit states. "In reality, Fyre Festival was the opposite. The event fell woefully short of what was advertised in virtually every way."

The suit went on to say, "Instead of world-class cuisine and entertainment, concert goers found themselves without adequate food, water, shelter, and basic medical care. Still others [en] route to the event found themselves stranded in Miami, Florida unsure of how to proceed or of what was occurring on the island."

The Reels are just two of many attendees/prospective attendees who've lobbed such accusations against Fyre Festival. As the festival fell apart on April 27th, social media was abuzz with pictures of faux-"gourmet" meals, what appeared to be disaster relief tents falsely advertised as luxury villas and cabanas, and crowds of attendees attempting to flee the island only to find themselves trapped on tarmacs. Who could forget these battlecries:

Unfortunately, it appears Fyre's organizers only like social media attention when it features hot models and Kendall Jenner, and according to the Reels' lawsuit, they sent cease-and-desist letters to those who dared besmirch Fyre's good name on the Internet. Per the suit:

Those individuals who elected to speak negatively about the Defendants on social media, they are now being threatened with legal action via cease-and-desist letters,” the complaint read. “Specifically, if the social media comments were not taken down, the Defendants claim they could ‘incite violence, rioting, or civil unrest,’ with the caveat that if ‘someone innocent does get hurt as a result … Fyre Festival will hold you accountable and responsible.'

Meanwhile, another lawsuit filed recently claims Fyre Festival was a "a massive Ponzi scheme" in which investors were either defrauded or part of the alleged "get rich quick scheme." At least one such investor told Page Six they had "no involvement in operating the business or the conception or execution of the Fyre Festival."

And for folks who are curious as to how a festival that charged up to $12K for tickets ran out of cash, Vice reports organizers "blew all their money early on models, planes, and yachts," because no one's learned a thing from Entertainment 720.