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- 0
- 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:15,000
- INDOXXI
- Support dengan like & share :)
- 1
- 00:00:03,133 --> 00:00:06,139
- [tense music building]
- 2
- 00:00:06,139 --> 00:00:13,153
- ♪ ♪
- 3
- 00:00:18,790 --> 00:00:22,547
- [crickets chirping]
- 4
- 00:00:22,547 --> 00:00:25,386
- CALVIN: You're living in
- your parents' basement
- 5
- 00:00:25,386 --> 00:00:27,641
- and you pull out your phone,
- 6
- 00:00:27,641 --> 00:00:31,314
- which you look at
- 100 times an hour.
- 7
- 00:00:31,314 --> 00:00:34,362
- MAN: The actual experience
- exceeds all expectations.
- 8
- 00:00:34,362 --> 00:00:36,324
- CALVIN: You see a music
- festival
- 9
- 00:00:36,324 --> 00:00:37,994
- that exceeds all expectations
- 10
- 00:00:37,994 --> 00:00:41,585
- on a deserted island
- owned by Pablo Escobar.
- 11
- 00:00:41,585 --> 00:00:45,050
- There was music,
- private planes,
- 12
- 00:00:45,050 --> 00:00:48,891
- and beautiful women swimming
- on an island with drugs.
- 13
- 00:00:48,891 --> 00:00:51,522
- Man, that's about
- as sexy as it gets.
- 14
- 00:00:51,522 --> 00:00:53,484
- ♪ ♪
- 15
- 00:00:53,484 --> 00:00:57,241
- And then you see these
- wonderful, beautiful people
- 16
- 00:00:57,241 --> 00:00:58,786
- in places that you're not,
- 17
- 00:00:58,786 --> 00:01:01,625
- doing things that you can't
- afford to do.
- 18
- 00:01:01,625 --> 00:01:06,469
- It really didn't matter that
- these guys may be waifs,
- 19
- 00:01:06,469 --> 00:01:08,681
- trustafarians,
- 20
- 00:01:08,681 --> 00:01:12,481
- and this guy hosting this party
- was an obvious fraud
- 21
- 00:01:12,481 --> 00:01:14,651
- because many of
- these influencers
- 22
- 00:01:14,651 --> 00:01:16,739
- are people that you followâ€Ââ€Â
- 23
- 00:01:16,739 --> 00:01:19,745
- that you aspire to beâ€Ââ€Â
- 24
- 00:01:19,745 --> 00:01:24,922
- and also this rapper whose
- music that you listen to.
- 25
- 00:01:24,922 --> 00:01:28,261
- So when an opportunity
- presents itself
- 26
- 00:01:28,261 --> 00:01:30,475
- to get out
- of your parents' basement
- 27
- 00:01:30,475 --> 00:01:32,813
- and go be part of something
- that's culturally relevant,
- 28
- 00:01:32,813 --> 00:01:34,858
- you're gonna absolutely
- jump at that.
- 29
- 00:01:34,858 --> 00:01:39,868
- ♪ ♪
- 30
- 00:01:39,868 --> 00:01:43,333
- JAKE: This tapped into all
- the biggest millennial trends.
- 31
- 00:01:43,333 --> 00:01:45,630
- †[laughing] Yeah!
- 32
- 00:01:45,630 --> 00:01:47,968
- MAN: Wow.
- 33
- 00:01:47,968 --> 00:01:51,725
- [laughing] Never been
- so happy in my life
- 34
- 00:01:51,725 --> 00:01:56,527
- to see this group of bozos.
- 35
- 00:01:56,527 --> 00:01:59,449
- CC: It's like history
- in the making.
- 36
- 00:01:59,449 --> 00:02:00,994
- I mean, everyone's supposed
- to be here,
- 37
- 00:02:00,994 --> 00:02:04,208
- like Bella Hadid,
- Kendall Jenner...
- 38
- 00:02:04,876 --> 00:02:06,964
- OREN: Fyre Festival was
- supposed to be
- 39
- 00:02:06,964 --> 00:02:08,300
- the new Coachella,
- 40
- 00:02:08,300 --> 00:02:11,097
- the new Burning Man,
- the new whatever.
- 41
- 00:02:11,097 --> 00:02:14,730
- DANIEL: The whole thing is
- wrapped in sex appeal.
- 42
- 00:02:14,730 --> 00:02:18,571
- It's in the Bahamas
- on a private island
- 43
- 00:02:18,571 --> 00:02:22,954
- with a millionâ€Âdollar
- treasure hunt giveaway.
- 44
- 00:02:22,954 --> 00:02:25,375
- SETH: There was swimming
- with pigs
- 45
- 00:02:25,375 --> 00:02:29,133
- and cuisine unlike
- anything you've ever had.
- 46
- 00:02:29,133 --> 00:02:31,639
- It was gonna be
- an immersive experience
- 47
- 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:33,517
- bordering on impossible.
- 48
- 00:02:33,517 --> 00:02:36,523
- JESSE: Exclusivity with
- unbelievable access
- 49
- 00:02:36,523 --> 00:02:38,109
- to premiere talent.
- 50
- 00:02:38,109 --> 00:02:40,322
- Kanye was gonna be performing
- at this festival.
- 51
- 00:02:40,322 --> 00:02:42,494
- JIA: People spent tens
- of thousands of dollars
- 52
- 00:02:42,494 --> 00:02:44,288
- on tickets.
- 53
- 00:02:44,288 --> 00:02:47,629
- STEWARD: ...and your seats in
- their upright position.
- 54
- 00:02:47,629 --> 00:02:51,428
- AUSTIN: We were all packed into
- a yellow school bus,
- 55
- 00:02:51,428 --> 00:02:53,641
- and people are thinking,
- "What's the worst thing
- 56
- 00:02:53,641 --> 00:02:55,185
- that could possibly happen?"
- 57
- 00:02:55,185 --> 00:02:57,106
- ♪ ♪
- 58
- 00:02:57,106 --> 00:02:59,820
- †What's happening?
- There's no water over there.
- 59
- 00:02:59,820 --> 00:03:03,118
- Oh, Jesus.
- †[laughing]
- 60
- 00:03:03,118 --> 00:03:05,205
- †I mean, this is just crazy.
- 61
- 00:03:05,205 --> 00:03:07,001
- There's trucks all
- over the place.
- 62
- 00:03:07,001 --> 00:03:08,838
- Still setting things up.
- 63
- 00:03:08,838 --> 00:03:10,967
- SETH: There were Amazon
- boxes everywhere
- 64
- 00:03:10,967 --> 00:03:12,721
- and there was a shower,
- 65
- 00:03:12,721 --> 00:03:14,433
- but you couldn't
- open your mouth
- 66
- 00:03:14,433 --> 00:03:15,810
- 'cause the water was green.
- 67
- 00:03:15,810 --> 00:03:17,396
- †Yikes.
- Oh, get the fuck out of here.
- 68
- 00:03:17,396 --> 00:03:18,941
- Let's get the fuck out of here.
- 69
- 00:03:18,941 --> 00:03:20,737
- AVA: You can party like
- an Instagram model
- 70
- 00:03:20,737 --> 00:03:22,490
- and, you know,
- live the life of your dreams,
- 71
- 00:03:22,490 --> 00:03:24,828
- but on the beach, everyone was
- just sort of wrecked
- 72
- 00:03:24,828 --> 00:03:26,707
- and sunburnt and, like,
- this is not what I thought
- 73
- 00:03:26,707 --> 00:03:28,544
- was gonna happen.
- 74
- 00:03:28,544 --> 00:03:30,465
- †It's an absolute circus.
- I don't know what's going on.
- 75
- 00:03:30,465 --> 00:03:32,217
- ♪ ♪
- 76
- 00:03:32,217 --> 00:03:35,223
- JAKE: People were like,
- "What did I get myself into?"
- 77
- 00:03:35,223 --> 00:03:36,392
- †We don't even know.
- 78
- 00:03:36,392 --> 00:03:37,687
- We're stranded.
- †Yeah.
- 79
- 00:03:37,687 --> 00:03:39,524
- CC: Tents are blowing away.
- 80
- 00:03:39,524 --> 00:03:42,404
- All of the acts
- have pulled out.
- 81
- 00:03:42,404 --> 00:03:44,074
- MAN: It was a shitshow.
- 82
- 00:03:44,074 --> 00:03:45,703
- SETH: You know, like,
- 83
- 00:03:45,703 --> 00:03:48,626
- a camp counselor could have
- done a better job.
- 84
- 00:03:48,626 --> 00:03:51,088
- At one point, a guy was just
- standing
- 85
- 00:03:51,088 --> 00:03:55,096
- on this little plywood table,
- answering questions one by one
- 86
- 00:03:55,096 --> 00:03:58,019
- with a line of 100 people
- behind him.
- 87
- 00:03:58,019 --> 00:03:59,981
- REPORTER: Billy McFarland
- created the festival
- 88
- 00:03:59,981 --> 00:04:01,275
- and is blaming the disaster
- 89
- 00:04:01,275 --> 00:04:03,864
- on poor weather
- and bad planning.
- 90
- 00:04:03,864 --> 00:04:06,244
- †We took a big jump here
- and a big risk
- 91
- 00:04:06,244 --> 00:04:08,248
- and, uh, V1 has failed.
- 92
- 00:04:08,248 --> 00:04:10,293
- ♪ ♪
- 93
- 00:04:10,293 --> 00:04:15,555
- †You have to start to wonder,
- what is going on with this guy?
- 94
- 00:04:15,555 --> 00:04:17,307
- †Let's take it back
- to where it all started.
- 95
- 00:04:17,307 --> 00:04:19,061
- REPORTER: Okay.
- †So,
- 96
- 00:04:19,061 --> 00:04:20,773
- I'm a technology entrepreneur,
- but I've always really
- 97
- 00:04:20,773 --> 00:04:22,735
- been interested in payment
- tools and credit cards.
- 98
- 00:04:22,735 --> 00:04:24,614
- POLLY: If you ever see
- videos of him,
- 99
- 00:04:24,614 --> 00:04:27,871
- it's kind of like the same
- highâ€Âenergy spiel at all times.
- 100
- 00:04:27,871 --> 00:04:30,125
- †So it's a communityâ€Âoriented
- payment tool
- 101
- 00:04:30,125 --> 00:04:32,630
- that provides guidance,
- access, and experiences.
- 102
- 00:04:32,630 --> 00:04:35,761
- †It's like the ultimate
- usedâ€Âcar salesman.
- 103
- 00:04:35,761 --> 00:04:37,347
- †I wanna get the key and show
- you guys in here.
- 104
- 00:04:37,347 --> 00:04:39,477
- We've actually developed
- our own little factory.
- 105
- 00:04:39,477 --> 00:04:42,316
- POLLY: And he really wanted
- to sell you a car.
- 106
- 00:04:42,316 --> 00:04:44,069
- And he'd give you a deal.
- 107
- 00:04:44,069 --> 00:04:45,489
- CALVIN: You're sitting
- there saying, like,
- 108
- 00:04:45,489 --> 00:04:47,994
- "I have no idea
- what this guy does,
- 109
- 00:04:47,994 --> 00:04:49,998
- "but I'm pretty certain,
- 110
- 00:04:49,998 --> 00:04:51,292
- "because I can't define it,
- 111
- 00:04:51,292 --> 00:04:53,631
- that it's not legitimate."
- 112
- 00:04:53,631 --> 00:04:55,426
- REPORTER:
- The 25â€Âyearâ€Âold entrepreneur
- 113
- 00:04:55,426 --> 00:04:59,099
- created the Fyre Festival
- with rapper Ja Rule.
- 114
- 00:04:59,099 --> 00:05:00,561
- MAN: For people who don't
- know what Fyre is,
- 115
- 00:05:00,561 --> 00:05:02,105
- tell the people what Fyre is.
- 116
- 00:05:02,105 --> 00:05:04,026
- †Like, so, just to exâ€Ââ€Â
- †Hey, how you doing?
- 117
- 00:05:04,026 --> 00:05:07,241
- Uh, welcome.
- [laughs]
- 118
- 00:05:07,241 --> 00:05:09,913
- CALVIN: I guess once you attach
- Ja Rule to something,
- 119
- 00:05:09,913 --> 00:05:11,165
- you know it's legit.
- 120
- 00:05:11,165 --> 00:05:13,796
- I mean, that...
- [chuckles]
- 121
- 00:05:13,796 --> 00:05:15,508
- †Well, I'm gonna let my
- partner in crime here,
- 122
- 00:05:15,508 --> 00:05:18,179
- Billy McFarland,
- give y'all a introduction
- 123
- 00:05:18,179 --> 00:05:22,020
- of what Fyre is andâ€Ââ€Âand what
- it's bringing to the table.
- 124
- 00:05:22,020 --> 00:05:26,362
- †I see Fyre Fest
- as this big snowball
- 125
- 00:05:26,362 --> 00:05:28,324
- rolling down Scam Mountain...
- 126
- 00:05:28,324 --> 00:05:30,997
- ♪ ♪
- 127
- 00:05:30,997 --> 00:05:34,253
- That has rolled up all
- of the previous scams
- 128
- 00:05:34,253 --> 00:05:36,675
- into oneâ€Ââ€Â
- the rise of social media,
- 129
- 00:05:36,675 --> 00:05:38,429
- the rise of the
- Silicon Valley ethosâ€Ââ€Â
- 130
- 00:05:38,429 --> 00:05:41,560
- you know, make it up first,
- suck up a lot of money.
- 131
- 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,273
- Fyre Fest is all of these
- things zooming
- 132
- 00:05:44,273 --> 00:05:47,112
- straight at all of our brains,
- 133
- 00:05:47,112 --> 00:05:49,826
- landing straight in all
- of our Twitter feeds.
- 134
- 00:05:49,826 --> 00:05:53,625
- CALVIN: The cacophony of sound
- that they were able to create
- 135
- 00:05:53,625 --> 00:05:56,757
- using the influencers and
- their social media strategy
- 136
- 00:05:56,757 --> 00:05:58,677
- was so overwhelming
- 137
- 00:05:58,677 --> 00:06:02,727
- that not only did very smart
- financial guys give them money,
- 138
- 00:06:02,727 --> 00:06:05,566
- but, like,
- facts were just totally ignored
- 139
- 00:06:05,566 --> 00:06:08,279
- based off of the strength
- of their social media strategy.
- 140
- 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:11,160
- VICKIE: What Fyre Festival did
- prove
- 141
- 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:13,874
- is that the power
- of influence is real,
- 142
- 00:06:13,874 --> 00:06:18,049
- because at the time, there was
- nothing else but influence.
- 143
- 00:06:18,049 --> 00:06:21,138
- BEN: While social media
- was their tool,
- 144
- 00:06:21,138 --> 00:06:23,017
- it was ultimately
- their downfall.
- 145
- 00:06:23,017 --> 00:06:25,981
- REPORTER: Fyre Festival
- trending along with the hashtag
- 146
- 00:06:25,981 --> 00:06:27,485
- #FyreFraud.
- 147
- 00:06:27,485 --> 00:06:30,031
- MAN: Fyre becomes a meme
- in and of itself.
- 148
- 00:06:30,031 --> 00:06:34,331
- †Some people are calling it
- rich people's problems.
- 149
- 00:06:34,331 --> 00:06:38,005
- JIA: People like to see rich
- millennials get scammed.
- 150
- 00:06:38,005 --> 00:06:40,886
- †It would be perplexing and
- funny if it wasn't criminal.
- 151
- 00:06:40,886 --> 00:06:43,642
- And it is criminal.
- But it still is perplexing.
- 152
- 00:06:43,642 --> 00:06:46,440
- And still a little bit funny,
- but still horrible.
- 153
- 00:06:50,531 --> 00:06:53,161
- ♪ ♪
- 154
- 00:06:53,161 --> 00:06:56,083
- †The Fyre Music Festival
- creator now arrested
- 155
- 00:06:56,083 --> 00:06:58,463
- and charged with wire fraud
- in a separate case.
- 156
- 00:06:58,463 --> 00:07:00,551
- And Erielle, you got a comment
- from the lawyer
- 157
- 00:07:00,551 --> 00:07:02,387
- for William McFarland?
- †The attorney
- 158
- 00:07:02,387 --> 00:07:04,851
- just moments ago sayingâ€Ââ€Â
- and this is a quoteâ€Ââ€Â
- 159
- 00:07:04,851 --> 00:07:06,730
- "When this is all over,
- you will see
- 160
- 00:07:06,730 --> 00:07:07,982
- "that he is hardly the villain
- 161
- 00:07:07,982 --> 00:07:09,736
- the government
- portrays him as."
- 162
- 00:07:09,736 --> 00:07:11,405
- ♪ ♪
- 163
- 00:07:11,405 --> 00:07:13,201
- JAKE: The investigation against
- Billy McFarland
- 164
- 00:07:13,201 --> 00:07:15,623
- is being led by the
- Department of Justice,
- 165
- 00:07:15,623 --> 00:07:18,879
- and specifically the Southern
- District of New York,
- 166
- 00:07:18,879 --> 00:07:21,217
- which you might know from
- the show "Billions."
- 167
- 00:07:21,217 --> 00:07:23,387
- †Drop your credentials
- at the guards' desk
- 168
- 00:07:23,387 --> 00:07:26,268
- and get the fuck out of here!
- 169
- 00:07:26,268 --> 00:07:28,105
- ♪ ♪
- 170
- 00:07:28,105 --> 00:07:29,776
- JESSE: The Southern District
- of New York
- 171
- 00:07:29,776 --> 00:07:32,448
- is the premiere office of
- the Department of Justice.
- 172
- 00:07:32,448 --> 00:07:36,247
- They consider themselves able
- to prosecute anything,
- 173
- 00:07:36,247 --> 00:07:39,044
- anywhere, anytime.
- 174
- 00:07:39,044 --> 00:07:40,756
- JAKE: Billy McFarland's
- attorneys
- 175
- 00:07:40,756 --> 00:07:43,595
- presented letters of support
- from friends and family.
- 176
- 00:07:43,595 --> 00:07:46,141
- All kinds of people felt
- compelled to come out.
- 177
- 00:07:46,141 --> 00:07:48,814
- "He is the most inspiring
- and motivating person
- 178
- 00:07:48,814 --> 00:07:51,611
- I have ever met aside
- from my mother."
- 179
- 00:07:51,611 --> 00:07:53,907
- MAN: "Creative, passionate,
- and exceedingly optimistic."
- 180
- 00:07:53,907 --> 00:07:56,078
- COMPUTERIZED VOICE: "He is the
- smartest person I know."
- 181
- 00:07:56,078 --> 00:07:59,084
- BOTH: "Billy was and still
- is a visionary."
- 182
- 00:07:59,084 --> 00:08:01,213
- ♪ ♪
- 183
- 00:08:01,213 --> 00:08:04,261
- ANASTASIA: I believe that
- we all make mistakes.
- 184
- 00:08:04,261 --> 00:08:06,433
- ♪ ♪
- 185
- 00:08:06,433 --> 00:08:08,645
- And I believe in love.
- I love him.
- 186
- 00:08:08,645 --> 00:08:13,655
- Iâ€Ââ€ÂI do my best to support him.
- 187
- 00:08:13,655 --> 00:08:17,162
- I think he did really want
- that festival to happen,
- 188
- 00:08:17,162 --> 00:08:19,459
- and he did work very hard
- for it to happen.
- 189
- 00:08:19,459 --> 00:08:23,341
- ♪ ♪
- 190
- 00:08:23,341 --> 00:08:24,969
- You can read, like,
- all the news,
- 191
- 00:08:24,969 --> 00:08:27,516
- but it's, like, all, likeâ€Ââ€Â
- it's all super bad
- 192
- 00:08:27,516 --> 00:08:28,727
- and super negative.
- 193
- 00:08:28,727 --> 00:08:31,315
- ♪ ♪
- 194
- 00:08:31,315 --> 00:08:33,194
- He wanted to tell his story.
- 195
- 00:08:33,194 --> 00:08:35,783
- ♪ ♪
- 196
- 00:08:35,783 --> 00:08:37,912
- †What's up?
- MAN: Welcome.
- 197
- 00:08:37,912 --> 00:08:39,457
- †Nice and dark and ominous.
- 198
- 00:08:39,457 --> 00:08:41,461
- ♪ ♪
- 199
- 00:08:41,461 --> 00:08:43,465
- ANASTASIA: And he wanted
- to go deeper
- 200
- 00:08:43,465 --> 00:08:46,011
- than the festival failure.
- 201
- 00:08:46,011 --> 00:08:51,773
- ♪ ♪
- 202
- 00:08:51,773 --> 00:08:54,487
- †I think it's really easy to
- play Monday morning quarterback
- 203
- 00:08:54,487 --> 00:08:56,073
- for myself right now,
- looking back saying,
- 204
- 00:08:56,073 --> 00:08:57,535
- "I should have done this,
- I should have done that."
- 205
- 00:08:57,535 --> 00:08:59,329
- And I certainly made a lot
- of mistakes,
- 206
- 00:08:59,329 --> 00:09:02,043
- andâ€Ââ€Âand there's no question
- about that, but...
- 207
- 00:09:02,043 --> 00:09:03,964
- ♪ ♪
- 208
- 00:09:03,964 --> 00:09:07,555
- Before we had the worst luck,
- I think we had the best luck.
- 209
- 00:09:07,555 --> 00:09:10,978
- And, like, it sounds crazy,
- but so many things
- 210
- 00:09:10,978 --> 00:09:13,900
- had to go right to make it
- this big of a failure.
- 211
- 00:09:13,900 --> 00:09:16,990
- And everybody fully believed
- 212
- 00:09:16,990 --> 00:09:18,952
- that we were going to put on
- an event
- 213
- 00:09:18,952 --> 00:09:21,415
- that was going to change
- the landscape and deliver
- 214
- 00:09:21,415 --> 00:09:23,252
- an experience people would talk
- about for years.
- 215
- 00:09:23,252 --> 00:09:25,006
- There was no hidden secret.
- There was no hidden agenda.
- 216
- 00:09:25,006 --> 00:09:26,258
- We're all like,
- "Whatever it takes,
- 217
- 00:09:26,258 --> 00:09:27,553
- "we are all in,
- and let's go
- 218
- 00:09:27,553 --> 00:09:29,306
- and make this happen."
- 219
- 00:09:29,306 --> 00:09:32,312
- [pensive music]
- 220
- 00:09:32,312 --> 00:09:34,357
- ♪ ♪
- 221
- 00:09:34,357 --> 00:09:36,863
- JIA: There's this idea that
- this is the model of success
- 222
- 00:09:36,863 --> 00:09:38,742
- in the millennial era.
- 223
- 00:09:38,742 --> 00:09:41,790
- You can become the biggest,
- buzziest company in the world,
- 224
- 00:09:41,790 --> 00:09:44,127
- where you have this
- moonshot vision,
- 225
- 00:09:44,127 --> 00:09:45,964
- and you figure it out later.
- 226
- 00:09:45,964 --> 00:09:49,430
- Because, like,
- why couldn't you do it?
- 227
- 00:09:49,430 --> 00:09:51,058
- [dialâ€Âup modem ringing]
- 228
- 00:09:51,058 --> 00:09:53,229
- MAN: There are about 80 million
- of them born
- 229
- 00:09:53,229 --> 00:09:55,901
- between 1980 and 1995.
- 230
- 00:09:55,901 --> 00:09:57,655
- They're called millennials.
- 231
- 00:09:57,655 --> 00:10:00,034
- BOY: Wow, look at those
- cool graphics.
- 232
- 00:10:00,034 --> 00:10:01,746
- JIA: The millennial
- understanding of the world
- 233
- 00:10:01,746 --> 00:10:04,669
- has been shaped
- by extreme precarity.
- 234
- 00:10:04,669 --> 00:10:06,548
- [screaming and gunfire]
- 235
- 00:10:06,548 --> 00:10:11,223
- And now people want
- to construct their own reality.
- 236
- 00:10:11,223 --> 00:10:13,060
- †Do you know what
- we're fighting about?
- 237
- 00:10:13,060 --> 00:10:14,730
- There are people who...
- [overlapping shouting]
- 238
- 00:10:14,730 --> 00:10:17,235
- JIA: With the dream of being
- successful enough
- 239
- 00:10:17,235 --> 00:10:19,239
- that you are beyond
- accountability.
- 240
- 00:10:19,239 --> 00:10:21,703
- And Billy McFarland
- is the person that
- 241
- 00:10:21,703 --> 00:10:24,291
- is, like, baked in that oven
- and comes out fully formed
- 242
- 00:10:24,291 --> 00:10:26,336
- and does Fyre Fest.
- 243
- 00:10:26,336 --> 00:10:29,594
- ♪ ♪
- 244
- 00:10:29,594 --> 00:10:32,098
- BILLY: I was raised
- in New Jersey,
- 245
- 00:10:32,098 --> 00:10:33,602
- and my two parents
- worked together
- 246
- 00:10:33,602 --> 00:10:35,187
- as real estate developers
- and we grew up
- 247
- 00:10:35,187 --> 00:10:37,233
- as a close family.
- 248
- 00:10:37,233 --> 00:10:39,404
- COMPUTERIZED VOICE: "I am Billy
- McFarland's mother,
- 249
- 00:10:39,404 --> 00:10:41,241
- "and there is much that I would
- like you to know
- 250
- 00:10:41,241 --> 00:10:42,953
- "about my son.
- 251
- 00:10:42,953 --> 00:10:46,711
- "As a child, Billy was always
- ahead of the curve.
- 252
- 00:10:46,711 --> 00:10:49,717
- "He walked and talked
- well before the norm,
- 253
- 00:10:49,717 --> 00:10:52,890
- "was first to finish
- his math times tables,
- 254
- 00:10:52,890 --> 00:10:55,562
- "could swim in the ocean
- as a toddler,
- 255
- 00:10:55,562 --> 00:10:58,902
- was scuba diving at age ten."
- 256
- 00:10:58,902 --> 00:11:01,783
- BILLY: My first combination
- of technology and marketing
- 257
- 00:11:01,783 --> 00:11:03,495
- happened in second grade.
- 258
- 00:11:03,495 --> 00:11:06,751
- I was put next to, uh,
- a girl who I had a crush on.
- 259
- 00:11:06,751 --> 00:11:08,797
- And her crayon broke.
- 260
- 00:11:08,797 --> 00:11:11,636
- I said, "If you give me a
- dollar, I'll fix your crayon."
- 261
- 00:11:11,636 --> 00:11:15,644
- The school bought very basic
- Internetâ€Âconnected typewriters,
- 262
- 00:11:15,644 --> 00:11:17,105
- and I realized that this
- is the best way
- 263
- 00:11:17,105 --> 00:11:18,858
- to market my crayon business,
- 264
- 00:11:18,858 --> 00:11:20,904
- so I figured out the school's
- administrator password
- 265
- 00:11:20,904 --> 00:11:22,365
- and I started messing with
- them.
- 266
- 00:11:22,365 --> 00:11:24,202
- I changed the password and,
- like,
- 267
- 00:11:24,202 --> 00:11:25,914
- locked all the teachers out.
- So every time the AlphaSmart
- 268
- 00:11:25,914 --> 00:11:28,377
- was turned on, it would say,
- "For your broken crayons,
- 269
- 00:11:28,377 --> 00:11:31,216
- basically come and find me."
- 270
- 00:11:31,216 --> 00:11:33,220
- POLLY: I definitely think Billy
- was always inspired
- 271
- 00:11:33,220 --> 00:11:36,351
- by being a businessman,
- even if he's a teenyâ€Âtiny
- 272
- 00:11:36,351 --> 00:11:38,732
- crayonâ€Âbased businessman.
- 273
- 00:11:38,732 --> 00:11:41,779
- [funky electronic music]
- 274
- 00:11:41,779 --> 00:11:45,286
- CALVIN: Billy McFarland came
- of age with the Internet.
- 275
- 00:11:45,286 --> 00:11:46,873
- BILLY: The Internet
- doesn't have parents.
- 276
- 00:11:46,873 --> 00:11:49,044
- It doesn't have teachers.
- It doesn't have rules.
- 277
- 00:11:49,044 --> 00:11:52,801
- No one really told you
- what was right or wrong.
- 278
- 00:11:52,801 --> 00:11:55,724
- MALE VOICE: Welcome.
- You've got mail.
- 279
- 00:11:55,724 --> 00:11:58,020
- JESSE: As this young man
- is growing up,
- 280
- 00:11:58,020 --> 00:11:59,565
- there's a huge boom.
- 281
- 00:11:59,565 --> 00:12:02,070
- MAN: The information
- technology revolution:
- 282
- 00:12:02,070 --> 00:12:05,326
- it's affecting the way we do
- business and live our lives.
- 283
- 00:12:05,326 --> 00:12:07,413
- And that's why
- it's so profitable.
- 284
- 00:12:07,413 --> 00:12:08,750
- †The investors
- are going crazy.
- 285
- 00:12:08,750 --> 00:12:10,127
- †To pass the time,
- 286
- 00:12:10,127 --> 00:12:12,716
- help yourself
- to some more stock.
- 287
- 00:12:12,716 --> 00:12:15,012
- BILLY: My first real company
- when I was in fifth grade
- 288
- 00:12:15,012 --> 00:12:16,682
- was a webâ€Âposting company,
- 289
- 00:12:16,682 --> 00:12:19,020
- and I had three fullâ€Âtime
- people working for me, uh,
- 290
- 00:12:19,020 --> 00:12:20,732
- in India.
- 291
- 00:12:20,732 --> 00:12:22,736
- I'm talking to people, like,
- entirely across the world
- 292
- 00:12:22,736 --> 00:12:26,494
- when my friends are focused on,
- like, kickball at recess.
- 293
- 00:12:26,494 --> 00:12:28,998
- I had, like, the worst fake
- deep voice on the planet.
- 294
- 00:12:28,998 --> 00:12:31,044
- I would pick up the phone and
- just never say how old I wasâ€Ââ€Â
- 295
- 00:12:31,044 --> 00:12:33,424
- be like, "Hello?"
- †Hello?
- 296
- 00:12:33,424 --> 00:12:34,927
- COMPUTERIZED VOICE:
- "Billy has been gifted
- 297
- 00:12:34,927 --> 00:12:37,181
- "with both a blessing
- and a curse:
- 298
- 00:12:37,181 --> 00:12:39,895
- He can only think big."
- 299
- 00:12:39,895 --> 00:12:42,693
- POLLY: Billy thought that he
- was going to be Mark Zuckerberg
- 300
- 00:12:42,693 --> 00:12:45,197
- and that he was on the road
- to be Mark Zuckerberg
- 301
- 00:12:45,197 --> 00:12:48,788
- and that nothing
- would stop him.
- 302
- 00:12:48,788 --> 00:12:51,042
- BILLY: I went to college
- at Bucknell.
- 303
- 00:12:51,042 --> 00:12:53,715
- Bucknell had this, like,
- pitch competition,
- 304
- 00:12:53,715 --> 00:12:56,178
- and I created the content
- for Spling.
- 305
- 00:12:56,178 --> 00:12:58,140
- MAN: You just found
- a hilarious video,
- 306
- 00:12:58,140 --> 00:13:01,731
- delicious recipe, or even
- an interesting article online.
- 307
- 00:13:01,731 --> 00:13:03,568
- Now you want to share it
- with your friends.
- 308
- 00:13:03,568 --> 00:13:05,279
- What do you do?
- 309
- 00:13:05,279 --> 00:13:07,283
- †Spling was basically
- 310
- 00:13:07,283 --> 00:13:11,918
- a duplicate of Google+
- kind of vibe.
- 311
- 00:13:11,918 --> 00:13:15,216
- †I'm Billy McFarland,
- the CEO of Spling.
- 312
- 00:13:15,216 --> 00:13:17,846
- I don't know if you've ever
- seen the video from demo day,
- 313
- 00:13:17,846 --> 00:13:20,852
- but the pitch for Spling
- didn't go so well.
- 314
- 00:13:20,852 --> 00:13:22,230
- Let's see a quick demo.
- 315
- 00:13:22,230 --> 00:13:25,445
- [awkward music]
- 316
- 00:13:25,445 --> 00:13:27,406
- Sorry, one second.
- 317
- 00:13:27,406 --> 00:13:30,997
- ♪ ♪
- 318
- 00:13:30,997 --> 00:13:33,126
- Remember, Spling it.
- Thank you very much.
- 319
- 00:13:33,126 --> 00:13:35,757
- After that, we were urged
- to explore
- 320
- 00:13:35,757 --> 00:13:39,180
- new versions of our idea.
- 321
- 00:13:39,180 --> 00:13:41,769
- We moved to New York,
- and we were just so concerned
- 322
- 00:13:41,769 --> 00:13:43,188
- with, like,
- "What's the next step?
- 323
- 00:13:43,188 --> 00:13:44,733
- What's the next step?"
- 324
- 00:13:44,733 --> 00:13:46,487
- JAKE: When he moved
- to New York,
- 325
- 00:13:46,487 --> 00:13:48,449
- I think it was a moment
- where millennials
- 326
- 00:13:48,449 --> 00:13:50,495
- as a generation
- are struggling to understand
- 327
- 00:13:50,495 --> 00:13:51,956
- the world around them.
- 328
- 00:13:51,956 --> 00:13:54,420
- †It was the worst day
- on Wall Street.
- 329
- 00:13:54,420 --> 00:13:56,214
- JIA: All of the pillars
- of upward mobility
- 330
- 00:13:56,214 --> 00:13:57,926
- have been crumbling
- for decades.
- 331
- 00:13:57,926 --> 00:13:59,930
- REPORTER: More millennials
- are living with parents
- 332
- 00:13:59,930 --> 00:14:01,684
- than with spouses or partners.
- 333
- 00:14:01,684 --> 00:14:03,646
- JIA: You can't buy a house
- and settle down
- 334
- 00:14:03,646 --> 00:14:05,315
- because you can't afford one.
- 335
- 00:14:05,315 --> 00:14:06,819
- There is the rise
- of this, like,
- 336
- 00:14:06,819 --> 00:14:08,656
- insane college debt bubble.
- 337
- 00:14:08,656 --> 00:14:10,994
- CALVIN: There are fewer and
- fewer jobs where people can
- 338
- 00:14:10,994 --> 00:14:13,875
- not just better themselves but
- just sustain the status quo.
- 339
- 00:14:13,875 --> 00:14:15,335
- JAKE: This is what was
- happening,
- 340
- 00:14:15,335 --> 00:14:16,922
- and it was very clear
- 341
- 00:14:16,922 --> 00:14:20,304
- that Billy understood
- what his friends want.
- 342
- 00:14:20,304 --> 00:14:21,891
- BILLY: I was literally
- at dinner with friends
- 343
- 00:14:21,891 --> 00:14:24,480
- and we all split the bill,
- and we all had our
- 344
- 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:28,320
- introductory debit cards,
- and this idea struck me.
- 345
- 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:31,702
- And I'm like, "Wow, like, what
- if I could make these cooler?"
- 346
- 00:14:31,702 --> 00:14:34,583
- So I went and ordered a sheet
- of metal from China
- 347
- 00:14:34,583 --> 00:14:36,670
- and, like, magnetic tape
- and this, like,
- 348
- 00:14:36,670 --> 00:14:40,804
- giant sheet that was super thin
- and I found a way to copy
- 349
- 00:14:40,804 --> 00:14:42,641
- my debit card onto
- the sheet of metal.
- 350
- 00:14:42,641 --> 00:14:44,018
- And I did it and it worked,
- and I, like,
- 351
- 00:14:44,018 --> 00:14:45,688
- went down to the deli.
- 352
- 00:14:45,688 --> 00:14:47,358
- So I went and, like,
- bought something with this,
- 353
- 00:14:47,358 --> 00:14:49,237
- like, stupid card,
- and I'm like, "Shit, it works.
- 354
- 00:14:49,237 --> 00:14:51,826
- I can go to the store andâ€Ââ€Âand
- buy stuff with this."
- 355
- 00:14:51,826 --> 00:14:54,163
- And that was the genesis
- of the Magnises card.
- 356
- 00:14:54,163 --> 00:14:56,794
- [exciting music]
- 357
- 00:14:56,794 --> 00:15:00,552
- †Jessica, you're chasing
- a story about the millennials'
- 358
- 00:15:00,552 --> 00:15:02,973
- version of the black card.
- What do you got?
- 359
- 00:15:02,973 --> 00:15:05,520
- JESSICA: Billy McFarland wanted
- a life with the perks
- 360
- 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:07,899
- of the black
- American Express card,
- 361
- 00:15:07,899 --> 00:15:12,199
- so he created it for himself.
- This is Magnises.
- 362
- 00:15:12,199 --> 00:15:13,995
- MAN: How did you come up
- with that name?
- 363
- 00:15:13,995 --> 00:15:15,957
- †Uh, the name is made up.
- 364
- 00:15:15,957 --> 00:15:17,502
- I think I spelled it wrong,
- though, 'cause, like,
- 365
- 00:15:17,502 --> 00:15:19,506
- it probably should have been
- Mâ€ÂAâ€ÂGâ€ÂNâ€ÂEâ€ÂS,
- 366
- 00:15:19,506 --> 00:15:21,217
- but I spelled it Mâ€ÂAâ€ÂGâ€ÂNâ€ÂIâ€ÂS,
- 367
- 00:15:21,217 --> 00:15:23,472
- so a lot of people said
- "Magâ€Ânessâ€Âis," but whatever.
- 368
- 00:15:23,472 --> 00:15:25,643
- †What is Magnises?
- It's a card.
- 369
- 00:15:25,643 --> 00:15:27,021
- But it's more than that.
- †It's a card.
- 370
- 00:15:27,021 --> 00:15:28,398
- It's a card.
- It's more than that.
- 371
- 00:15:28,398 --> 00:15:30,319
- †I don't know
- if it means magnet.
- 372
- 00:15:30,319 --> 00:15:32,239
- †Some meteorological element.
- 373
- 00:15:32,239 --> 00:15:33,993
- †Someone had a way
- better joke about it.
- 374
- 00:15:33,993 --> 00:15:35,997
- They go, "Well, it just means
- magnum penis, right?"
- 375
- 00:15:35,997 --> 00:15:37,333
- And I was like, "Yeah,
- that kinda works.
- 376
- 00:15:37,333 --> 00:15:39,630
- That makes sense."
- 377
- 00:15:39,630 --> 00:15:42,552
- †This card will piggyback
- off of your current credit card
- 378
- 00:15:42,552 --> 00:15:45,433
- with extra perks that you
- can't get anywhere else.
- 379
- 00:15:45,433 --> 00:15:48,814
- EMILY: The main selling point
- to me was this townhouse.
- 380
- 00:15:48,814 --> 00:15:50,568
- †This is the main floor.
- 381
- 00:15:50,568 --> 00:15:53,449
- It's really greatâ€Ââ€Âa communal
- workspace during the day.
- 382
- 00:15:53,449 --> 00:15:55,160
- Then at night we move all
- the tables and chairs
- 383
- 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:56,538
- out of the way, have a lot
- of events and speakers,
- 384
- 00:15:56,538 --> 00:15:58,375
- parties, dinners.
- 385
- 00:15:58,375 --> 00:16:01,297
- EMILY: You had this place to go
- to meet people like you
- 386
- 00:16:01,297 --> 00:16:03,176
- and I think if you're, like,
- new to the city,
- 387
- 00:16:03,176 --> 00:16:04,763
- that sounded cool.
- That sounded like,
- 388
- 00:16:04,763 --> 00:16:06,725
- "Oh, that's my way
- to make introductions."
- 389
- 00:16:06,725 --> 00:16:08,980
- In reality, the people who hung
- out there were not the people
- 390
- 00:16:08,980 --> 00:16:10,942
- that they advertised.
- 391
- 00:16:10,942 --> 00:16:12,529
- [quirky music]
- 392
- 00:16:12,529 --> 00:16:14,658
- It was, like, guys who lived
- in Murray Hill
- 393
- 00:16:14,658 --> 00:16:17,162
- that, if they could join an
- outâ€Âofâ€Âcollege fraternity,
- 394
- 00:16:17,162 --> 00:16:19,459
- they would.
- 395
- 00:16:19,459 --> 00:16:23,258
- BILLY: Grant was a Magnises
- member who called me one day,
- 396
- 00:16:23,258 --> 00:16:25,888
- yelling about 20 things
- we could improve on.
- 397
- 00:16:25,888 --> 00:16:27,934
- And we said, "Why don't you
- come and fix it for us?"
- 398
- 00:16:27,934 --> 00:16:30,147
- And that was the start
- of the relationship.
- 399
- 00:16:30,147 --> 00:16:32,527
- EMILY: So when Billy and Grant
- got connected,
- 400
- 00:16:32,527 --> 00:16:34,781
- it was like "The Office"
- except with, like,
- 401
- 00:16:34,781 --> 00:16:36,702
- no redeeming qualities.
- 402
- 00:16:36,702 --> 00:16:38,330
- †What is a business?
- 403
- 00:16:38,330 --> 00:16:41,210
- EMILY: Billy was Michael Scott.
- Grant was Dwight,
- 404
- 00:16:41,210 --> 00:16:43,298
- so, like, tattling right awayâ€Ââ€Â
- he'd be like, "Michael!"
- 405
- 00:16:43,298 --> 00:16:45,218
- †Michael!
- †You know, like,
- 406
- 00:16:45,218 --> 00:16:47,306
- that was kind of likeâ€Ââ€Â
- he'd be like, "Billy!"
- 407
- 00:16:47,306 --> 00:16:50,145
- Grant made the Magnises
- marketing deck.
- 408
- 00:16:50,145 --> 00:16:52,776
- Like, one word would be "luxe."
- [chill trendy music]
- 409
- 00:16:52,776 --> 00:16:54,362
- Uh, "nuance."
- 410
- 00:16:54,362 --> 00:16:56,282
- "NYC."
- 411
- 00:16:56,282 --> 00:16:57,827
- We actually, like, started
- running out of time
- 412
- 00:16:57,827 --> 00:17:00,207
- because it's 152 pages,
- and at that point.
- 413
- 00:17:00,207 --> 00:17:02,336
- Grant just is flipping through
- the thing so fast.
- 414
- 00:17:02,336 --> 00:17:04,800
- "Luxe, NYC, blah, blah, blah,
- marketing."
- 415
- 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:06,010
- And he was like a robot
- kind of like
- 416
- 00:17:06,010 --> 00:17:08,098
- going through it really fast.
- 417
- 00:17:08,098 --> 00:17:11,647
- But, like, we were expected
- to listen to this as if
- 418
- 00:17:11,647 --> 00:17:15,905
- this was Tim Cook giving the
- Apple Town Hall of the year.
- 419
- 00:17:15,905 --> 00:17:17,450
- JAKE: When I think
- about Magnises,
- 420
- 00:17:17,450 --> 00:17:20,080
- I think about
- Entertainment 720.
- 421
- 00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:21,917
- There is no actual business.
- 422
- 00:17:21,917 --> 00:17:23,838
- It's just guys
- being in business.
- 423
- 00:17:23,838 --> 00:17:27,386
- BOTH: ♪ We're flush with cash ♪
- 424
- 00:17:27,386 --> 00:17:29,306
- [dramatic music]
- 425
- 00:17:29,306 --> 00:17:32,605
- BEN: It's funny, but Billy knew
- how to reach out
- 426
- 00:17:32,605 --> 00:17:34,735
- to Silicon Valley,
- how to reach out
- 427
- 00:17:34,735 --> 00:17:36,697
- to private equity to get money
- 428
- 00:17:36,697 --> 00:17:38,868
- to fund his endeavors
- at a high level.
- 429
- 00:17:39,953 --> 00:17:41,707
- CALVIN: As he's building
- Magnises,
- 430
- 00:17:41,707 --> 00:17:45,590
- Billy meets Aubrey McClendon.
- 431
- 00:17:45,590 --> 00:17:48,929
- REPORTER: Aubrey McClendon is
- the CEO of Chesapeake Energy,
- 432
- 00:17:48,929 --> 00:17:50,433
- one of the country's
- most powerful
- 433
- 00:17:50,433 --> 00:17:52,186
- independent gas producers.
- 434
- 00:17:52,186 --> 00:17:54,064
- †We have discovered
- the equivalent
- 435
- 00:17:54,064 --> 00:17:56,820
- of two Saudi Arabias of oil.
- 436
- 00:17:56,820 --> 00:18:00,620
- CALVIN: Aubrey McClendon
- is a colorful figure.
- 437
- 00:18:00,620 --> 00:18:03,459
- BEN: Aubrey McClendon owned
- the Oklahoma City Thunder.
- 438
- 00:18:03,459 --> 00:18:06,214
- REPORTER: He is the outspoken,
- influential heir
- 439
- 00:18:06,214 --> 00:18:08,176
- of one of America's
- wealthiest families.
- 440
- 00:18:08,176 --> 00:18:09,721
- †In my mind he was, like,
- the best entrepreneur
- 441
- 00:18:09,721 --> 00:18:11,600
- I ever could have imagined.
- 442
- 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:13,687
- He could walk into a room with
- 50 of the most power people
- 443
- 00:18:13,687 --> 00:18:16,485
- in the world,
- and he owned that room.
- 444
- 00:18:16,485 --> 00:18:18,697
- We had a meeting with Aubrey
- 445
- 00:18:18,697 --> 00:18:20,785
- about getting involved
- in Magnises.
- 446
- 00:18:20,785 --> 00:18:22,455
- We were at the Four Seasons
- in San Francisco.
- 447
- 00:18:22,455 --> 00:18:24,083
- We started, like,
- shooting the shit for a minute,
- 448
- 00:18:24,083 --> 00:18:26,045
- and I pull out the card
- andâ€Ââ€Âand dropped the card
- 449
- 00:18:26,045 --> 00:18:27,632
- on the table.
- 450
- 00:18:27,632 --> 00:18:29,553
- Of course he's the center
- of attention of the room,
- 451
- 00:18:29,553 --> 00:18:31,515
- and all the top VCs are there.
- All the guys are there.
- 452
- 00:18:31,515 --> 00:18:33,268
- Everybody wants to talk
- to Aubrey.
- 453
- 00:18:33,268 --> 00:18:34,938
- And he's there just clanging
- this card on the table,
- 454
- 00:18:34,938 --> 00:18:35,940
- just, like, throwing it down
- and, like,
- 455
- 00:18:35,940 --> 00:18:36,942
- taking pictures of it.
- 456
- 00:18:36,942 --> 00:18:38,612
- ♪ ♪
- 457
- 00:18:38,612 --> 00:18:40,533
- A half hour later, and when
- I was on the plane,
- 458
- 00:18:40,533 --> 00:18:45,543
- he sent me over a term sheet
- to invest $500,000 in Magnises.
- 459
- 00:18:45,543 --> 00:18:48,424
- [hipâ€Âhop music]
- And the rest is history.
- 460
- 00:18:48,424 --> 00:18:51,430
- [air horn blowing]
- 461
- 00:18:51,430 --> 00:18:54,018
- JAKE: After Aubrey McClendon
- invests in Magnises,
- 462
- 00:18:54,018 --> 00:18:57,232
- Billy drops money on
- influencers and musicians.
- 463
- 00:18:57,232 --> 00:18:59,487
- †He showed up with a bag
- of cash to pay Rick Ross,
- 464
- 00:18:59,487 --> 00:19:00,865
- and it really happened.
- 465
- 00:19:00,865 --> 00:19:02,493
- [explosion booms]
- 466
- 00:19:02,493 --> 00:19:03,495
- JAKE: As it turns out...
- 467
- 00:19:03,495 --> 00:19:05,415
- [air horn blows]
- 468
- 00:19:05,415 --> 00:19:08,129
- It doesn't take much to trick
- a New York City media reporter
- 469
- 00:19:08,129 --> 00:19:10,426
- into writing a story about
- how great your company is.
- 470
- 00:19:10,426 --> 00:19:12,220
- [air horns blowing]
- 471
- 00:19:12,220 --> 00:19:14,643
- BEN: There were positive
- articles that were influenced
- 472
- 00:19:14,643 --> 00:19:17,064
- heavily by publicists
- and marketing teams.
- 473
- 00:19:17,064 --> 00:19:19,276
- JAKE: These press stories
- end up turning Billy
- 474
- 00:19:19,276 --> 00:19:20,905
- into this image
- 475
- 00:19:20,905 --> 00:19:24,328
- of the next entrepreneurial god
- of New York City.
- 476
- 00:19:24,328 --> 00:19:27,292
- †They were just rerunning
- a press release, you know?
- 477
- 00:19:27,292 --> 00:19:31,175
- It's like, "Ooh, exclusive club
- for hot, elite millennials."
- 478
- 00:19:31,175 --> 00:19:33,054
- [quirky music]
- 479
- 00:19:33,054 --> 00:19:36,185
- JAKE: Right around this time,
- Billy meets Ja Rule,
- 480
- 00:19:36,185 --> 00:19:39,776
- who himself has had some
- problems with the law, umâ€Ââ€Â
- 481
- 00:19:39,776 --> 00:19:41,655
- †So, you spent two
- years in prison.
- 482
- 00:19:41,655 --> 00:19:45,161
- †Yeah, I went in on my state
- charge for the gun charge,
- 483
- 00:19:45,161 --> 00:19:48,167
- and they ran it concurrent
- with my... [quietly] Tax stuff.
- 484
- 00:19:48,167 --> 00:19:49,629
- [laughs]
- 485
- 00:19:49,629 --> 00:19:52,552
- ♪ What's my
- motherfucking name ♪
- 486
- 00:19:52,552 --> 00:19:55,474
- †As an investor, when
- I heard Ja Rule was involved,
- 487
- 00:19:55,474 --> 00:19:58,605
- I immediately think of the
- inimitable Dave Chappelle.
- 488
- 00:19:58,605 --> 00:20:00,400
- †We got Ja Rule on the phone.
- 489
- 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:03,657
- Let's see what Ja's thoughts
- are on this tragicâ€Ââ€Â
- 490
- 00:20:03,657 --> 00:20:05,326
- who gives a fuck
- what Ja Rule thinks
- 491
- 00:20:05,326 --> 00:20:07,623
- at a time like this, nigga?
- This is ridiculous.
- 492
- 00:20:07,623 --> 00:20:08,625
- †I don't know if you've
- seen this clip.
- 493
- 00:20:08,625 --> 00:20:10,045
- It's hysterical.
- 494
- 00:20:10,045 --> 00:20:11,423
- †Think when bad shit
- happens to me,
- 495
- 00:20:11,423 --> 00:20:12,884
- I'll be in the crib like,
- "Oh, my God.
- 496
- 00:20:12,884 --> 00:20:14,261
- "This is just terrible.
- 497
- 00:20:14,261 --> 00:20:17,477
- "Could somebody please
- find Ja Rule?
- 498
- 00:20:17,477 --> 00:20:19,063
- "Get a hold of this
- motherfucker so I can
- 499
- 00:20:19,063 --> 00:20:24,364
- make sense of all this.
- Where is Ja?"
- 500
- 00:20:24,364 --> 00:20:26,828
- JAKE: Ja Rule,
- like many other rappers,
- 501
- 00:20:26,828 --> 00:20:28,707
- is looking for
- the next big thing.
- 502
- 00:20:28,707 --> 00:20:31,378
- †Ja, what is this new look?
- 503
- 00:20:31,378 --> 00:20:32,965
- †I don't know, man.
- 504
- 00:20:32,965 --> 00:20:34,886
- Sheâ€Ââ€Âshe want me to leave
- the street life alone.
- 505
- 00:20:34,886 --> 00:20:36,388
- Guess that's what I'm gonna do.
- 506
- 00:20:36,388 --> 00:20:38,226
- [quirky music]
- 507
- 00:20:38,226 --> 00:20:40,188
- EMILY: They gave him a roleâ€Ââ€Â
- like, a title technically,
- 508
- 00:20:40,188 --> 00:20:43,236
- but, like, just so when he was
- on camera he would be
- 509
- 00:20:43,236 --> 00:20:44,614
- associated with Magnises.
- 510
- 00:20:44,614 --> 00:20:47,495
- He had nothing
- to do with Magnises.
- 511
- 00:20:47,495 --> 00:20:49,707
- †So many celebrities become
- brand ambassadors
- 512
- 00:20:49,707 --> 00:20:51,878
- for something or other.
- Why'd you choose this?
- 513
- 00:20:51,878 --> 00:20:56,555
- †Uh, you know, it'sâ€Ââ€Â
- it's a very unique situation.
- 514
- 00:20:56,555 --> 00:21:01,230
- Whenever you can
- marry the affluent
- 515
- 00:21:01,230 --> 00:21:05,865
- with the less fortunate,
- you get the birth child...
- 516
- 00:21:05,865 --> 00:21:07,702
- †[laughs]
- How didâ€Ââ€Âwait, wait.
- 517
- 00:21:07,702 --> 00:21:09,539
- †Which is called hipâ€Âhop.
- 518
- 00:21:09,539 --> 00:21:11,751
- †Okay, well,
- this isn't called hipâ€Âhop.
- 519
- 00:21:11,751 --> 00:21:13,212
- This isâ€Ââ€Âthis is called
- a credit card.
- 520
- 00:21:13,212 --> 00:21:14,883
- †Yeah, this is
- a credit card...
- 521
- 00:21:14,883 --> 00:21:17,513
- †This wasn't a viable
- or a sustainable business,
- 522
- 00:21:17,513 --> 00:21:22,189
- as best I or anyone with
- common sense would assume.
- 523
- 00:21:22,189 --> 00:21:24,026
- [dramatic percussion]
- 524
- 00:21:24,026 --> 00:21:27,073
- And then Billy gets sued by
- the owner of this townhouse
- 525
- 00:21:27,073 --> 00:21:29,203
- that Magnises
- was anchored out of
- 526
- 00:21:29,203 --> 00:21:31,958
- because he'd completely
- trashed the place.
- 527
- 00:21:31,958 --> 00:21:33,921
- EMILY: The townhouse was
- the big selling point,
- 528
- 00:21:33,921 --> 00:21:36,885
- and that wasn't part
- of it anymore.
- 529
- 00:21:36,885 --> 00:21:39,264
- At that time,
- Magnises needed quick cash.
- 530
- 00:21:39,264 --> 00:21:41,143
- Memberships weren't selling.
- 531
- 00:21:41,143 --> 00:21:44,817
- They kept trying to come up
- with ideas of what would sell,
- 532
- 00:21:44,817 --> 00:21:46,988
- what would make this cooler.
- 533
- 00:21:46,988 --> 00:21:49,284
- Billy started coming up with
- ideas that we thought
- 534
- 00:21:49,284 --> 00:21:52,374
- seemed at least shady.
- 535
- 00:21:52,374 --> 00:21:55,213
- Billy could get a lot of money
- quickly when he would try
- 536
- 00:21:55,213 --> 00:21:57,217
- to sell tickets,
- 'cause he would sell things
- 537
- 00:21:57,217 --> 00:22:00,223
- he knew people wanted even if
- he didn't actually have them.
- 538
- 00:22:00,223 --> 00:22:04,774
- He tried to sell access
- to a private JLo party,
- 539
- 00:22:04,774 --> 00:22:08,364
- and then he was saying he had
- exclusive tickets
- 540
- 00:22:08,364 --> 00:22:10,619
- for Jayâ€ÂZ and Beyoncé.
- 541
- 00:22:10,619 --> 00:22:12,957
- But, like, the worst ticket
- scam in my opinion
- 542
- 00:22:12,957 --> 00:22:14,376
- was for "Hamilton."
- 543
- 00:22:14,376 --> 00:22:16,297
- You could yell at him saying,
- like,
- 544
- 00:22:16,297 --> 00:22:18,175
- "There's no possible way you
- have 200 tickets for 'Hamilton'
- 545
- 00:22:18,175 --> 00:22:20,305
- one night. There'sâ€Ââ€Â
- It's absolutely impossible.
- 546
- 00:22:20,305 --> 00:22:22,560
- And he would say,
- "It's possible."
- 547
- 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:24,772
- It would come to the night
- of, when people are like,
- 548
- 00:22:24,772 --> 00:22:27,027
- "Where are my tickets?
- It's the night of the show."
- 549
- 00:22:27,027 --> 00:22:28,697
- And he would, like,
- last minute buy them
- 550
- 00:22:28,697 --> 00:22:31,118
- on, like, StubHub
- for insane prices
- 551
- 00:22:31,118 --> 00:22:34,374
- and would give them out, like,
- literally in person.
- 552
- 00:22:34,374 --> 00:22:36,921
- I could see clearly, like,
- 553
- 00:22:36,921 --> 00:22:39,384
- Billy is gonna run
- this promotion,
- 554
- 00:22:39,384 --> 00:22:40,929
- get a ton of money
- from "Hamilton,"
- 555
- 00:22:40,929 --> 00:22:42,600
- and then he'll pay off
- the Beyoncé tickets
- 556
- 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:44,227
- he sold earlier. And all the
- sudden he'd be like,
- 557
- 00:22:44,227 --> 00:22:45,814
- "By the way, we're selling
- Super Bowl tickets."
- 558
- 00:22:45,814 --> 00:22:48,152
- Because he had to pay
- for the Hamilton tickets.
- 559
- 00:22:48,152 --> 00:22:52,327
- BEN: I think ultimately,
- Magnises is what cemented
- 560
- 00:22:52,327 --> 00:22:54,457
- Billy's idea that he could
- really make money
- 561
- 00:22:54,457 --> 00:22:57,379
- from defrauding millennials.
- 562
- 00:22:57,379 --> 00:22:59,049
- JAKE: And then Aubrey
- McClendonâ€Ââ€Â
- 563
- 00:22:59,049 --> 00:23:01,387
- Billy's most
- important investorâ€Ââ€Â
- 564
- 00:23:01,387 --> 00:23:04,811
- becomes a sign of everything
- that goes wrong.
- 565
- 00:23:04,811 --> 00:23:07,190
- REPORTER: Aubrey McClendon,
- one of the bestâ€Âknown
- 566
- 00:23:07,190 --> 00:23:09,487
- architects
- of the US shale boom,
- 567
- 00:23:09,487 --> 00:23:11,783
- indicted by
- a federal grand jury Tuesday
- 568
- 00:23:11,783 --> 00:23:13,745
- on conspiracy charges
- 569
- 00:23:13,745 --> 00:23:15,916
- linked to rigging the price of
- oil and gas leases in Oklahoma.
- 570
- 00:23:15,916 --> 00:23:18,295
- †Aubrey McClendon
- is a fraudster.
- 571
- 00:23:18,295 --> 00:23:21,719
- REPORTER: Chesapeake has had
- to borrow more than $6 billion
- 572
- 00:23:21,719 --> 00:23:23,347
- to stay afloat.
- 573
- 00:23:23,347 --> 00:23:25,226
- REPORTER: Chesapeake could be
- the next Enron.
- 574
- 00:23:25,226 --> 00:23:27,313
- JESSE: He's leading a company
- that is built
- 575
- 00:23:27,313 --> 00:23:29,025
- on a tissue of lies.
- 576
- 00:23:29,025 --> 00:23:32,282
- And eventually he's indicted
- for securities fraud.
- 577
- 00:23:32,282 --> 00:23:35,329
- †Police in Oklahoma
- are investigating the death
- 578
- 00:23:35,329 --> 00:23:37,125
- of a legendary energy titan.
- 579
- 00:23:37,125 --> 00:23:40,966
- Aubrey McClendon died yesterday
- in a fiery car crash
- 580
- 00:23:40,966 --> 00:23:43,179
- one day after being indicted.
- 581
- 00:23:43,179 --> 00:23:46,185
- [sinister music]
- 582
- 00:23:46,185 --> 00:23:49,274
- ♪ ♪
- 583
- 00:23:49,274 --> 00:23:50,903
- †Yeah, um...
- 584
- 00:23:50,903 --> 00:23:53,365
- ♪ ♪
- 585
- 00:23:53,365 --> 00:23:55,328
- I think I convinced myself
- for, like, a week
- 586
- 00:23:55,328 --> 00:23:56,748
- he wasn't actually dead.
- 587
- 00:23:56,748 --> 00:23:58,543
- I think that was, like,
- obviously wrong,
- 588
- 00:23:58,543 --> 00:24:00,672
- but I hit
- a mental block there.
- 589
- 00:24:00,672 --> 00:24:05,891
- ♪ ♪
- 590
- 00:24:05,891 --> 00:24:07,603
- JAKE: This, in a nutshell,
- 591
- 00:24:07,603 --> 00:24:09,690
- marks the end of an era
- for Magnises
- 592
- 00:24:09,690 --> 00:24:12,153
- and the beginning of trouble
- for his company.
- 593
- 00:24:12,153 --> 00:24:13,823
- ♪ ♪
- 594
- 00:24:13,823 --> 00:24:18,792
- But right around this time,
- Billy meets Carola Jain,
- 595
- 00:24:18,792 --> 00:24:22,215
- a very wellâ€Âoff investor
- and the wife of Bob Jain,
- 596
- 00:24:22,215 --> 00:24:25,514
- who runs one of the biggest
- hedge funds in New York City.
- 597
- 00:24:25,514 --> 00:24:28,853
- Carola becomes one of Billy's
- most important
- 598
- 00:24:28,853 --> 00:24:32,110
- and core seed investors.
- 599
- 00:24:32,110 --> 00:24:33,488
- †I found out some of our
- coworkers were working
- 600
- 00:24:33,488 --> 00:24:35,492
- on a side business for Billy.
- 601
- 00:24:35,492 --> 00:24:37,997
- And we kind of were like, "Hey,
- like, that doesn't feel right."
- 602
- 00:24:37,997 --> 00:24:43,592
- ♪ ♪
- 603
- 00:24:43,592 --> 00:24:46,723
- "Is he starting, like,
- another fraudulent business?"
- 604
- 00:24:46,723 --> 00:24:51,356
- ♪ ♪
- 605
- 00:24:51,356 --> 00:24:55,072
- DELROY: When I first met Billy,
- I was on Norman's Cay.
- 606
- 00:24:55,072 --> 00:24:58,538
- I was a bartender there
- at MacDuff's Restaurant.
- 607
- 00:24:58,538 --> 00:25:01,001
- I'm like, "What the fuck these
- guys coming here to do?"
- 608
- 00:25:01,001 --> 00:25:03,590
- 'Cause there's nothing
- on this island.
- 609
- 00:25:03,590 --> 00:25:07,556
- I think, "Well, let me just be
- quiet and do my job."
- 610
- 00:25:07,556 --> 00:25:09,977
- [blender whirring]
- 611
- 00:25:09,977 --> 00:25:13,985
- I'm the bartender.
- Let me get them drunk
- 612
- 00:25:13,985 --> 00:25:18,202
- 'cause a drunk mind speaks
- a sober tongue.
- 613
- 00:25:18,202 --> 00:25:19,914
- And it happened.
- 614
- 00:25:19,914 --> 00:25:21,751
- ♪ ♪
- 615
- 00:25:21,751 --> 00:25:24,339
- Billy said,
- "Bring out the laptop.
- 616
- 00:25:24,339 --> 00:25:26,218
- Show Delroy what you got."
- 617
- 00:25:26,218 --> 00:25:27,971
- BILLY: Our pitch was simple.
- 618
- 00:25:27,971 --> 00:25:29,725
- We want to bring music
- on this island
- 619
- 00:25:29,725 --> 00:25:31,604
- and allow hundreds of people
- 620
- 00:25:31,604 --> 00:25:33,942
- to come and experience
- the magic at one time.
- 621
- 00:25:33,942 --> 00:25:35,946
- And we were hoping to build
- this creative center
- 622
- 00:25:35,946 --> 00:25:38,242
- in the Bahamas where maybe
- our music artists would come
- 623
- 00:25:38,242 --> 00:25:40,371
- and record and models
- could come and shoot.
- 624
- 00:25:40,371 --> 00:25:43,043
- And we were hoping to have
- a yearâ€Âround creative center
- 625
- 00:25:43,043 --> 00:25:45,297
- that was culminated
- in this annual festival.
- 626
- 00:25:45,297 --> 00:25:48,638
- ♪ ♪
- 627
- 00:25:48,638 --> 00:25:51,477
- †Said "What do you think?
- Can we pull this off?"
- 628
- 00:25:51,477 --> 00:25:52,813
- I looked at him.
- 629
- 00:25:52,813 --> 00:25:57,448
- I was like, "Billy, uh,
- uhâ€Âuh."
- 630
- 00:25:57,448 --> 00:26:00,327
- [engine idling]
- 631
- 00:26:02,206 --> 00:26:04,670
- They're just like, "I'll
- be back in, like, two weeks."
- 632
- 00:26:04,670 --> 00:26:06,841
- So I'm like, "Yeah, right.
- Whatever."
- 633
- 00:26:06,841 --> 00:26:08,678
- [dramatic music]
- 634
- 00:26:08,678 --> 00:26:10,849
- AVA: People like Billy
- McFarland were not unique
- 635
- 00:26:10,849 --> 00:26:12,770
- to the Bahamas, you know?
- This is not the first time
- 636
- 00:26:12,770 --> 00:26:14,774
- that we've had someone purport
- to be something
- 637
- 00:26:14,774 --> 00:26:16,527
- and they're not.
- 638
- 00:26:16,527 --> 00:26:19,199
- Because of our proximity
- and our high visibility,
- 639
- 00:26:19,199 --> 00:26:23,708
- the Bahamas have always been
- a firstâ€Âstop shop for scammers.
- 640
- 00:26:23,708 --> 00:26:27,966
- We're a country of industrious,
- hardworking people,
- 641
- 00:26:27,966 --> 00:26:32,016
- but unemployment
- is incredibly high.
- 642
- 00:26:32,016 --> 00:26:34,229
- We're still
- a developing country.
- 643
- 00:26:34,229 --> 00:26:36,984
- WOMAN: Call 1â€Â800â€ÂSandals.
- 644
- 00:26:36,984 --> 00:26:40,032
- AVA: The culture
- of exclusive resorts,
- 645
- 00:26:40,032 --> 00:26:43,080
- this ultraâ€Âluxe lifestyle
- in an environment
- 646
- 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:48,006
- where there's so much povertyâ€Ââ€Â
- there is a level of collusion
- 647
- 00:26:48,006 --> 00:26:50,344
- and payâ€Âforâ€Âplay
- and kickbacks involved.
- 648
- 00:26:50,344 --> 00:26:53,601
- [water splashes]
- 649
- 00:26:53,601 --> 00:26:54,937
- It's so ripe for fraud.
- 650
- 00:26:54,937 --> 00:26:56,649
- ♪ ♪
- 651
- 00:26:56,649 --> 00:26:58,360
- DELROY: I'm riding past
- the runway
- 652
- 00:26:58,360 --> 00:27:00,155
- and I see this plane coming in.
- 653
- 00:27:00,155 --> 00:27:04,748
- Billy said, "Hey, Delroy,
- I told you I'd be back."
- 654
- 00:27:04,748 --> 00:27:07,796
- This other dude walked
- off the plane.
- 655
- 00:27:07,796 --> 00:27:10,342
- It's Ja Rule.
- 656
- 00:27:10,342 --> 00:27:13,265
- And apparently, Ja is the face
- for the festival.
- 657
- 00:27:13,265 --> 00:27:17,064
- And he came to make sure the
- shit kick off the right way.
- 658
- 00:27:17,064 --> 00:27:21,281
- †I am cofounder of Fyre.
- 659
- 00:27:21,281 --> 00:27:23,118
- Me and myâ€Ââ€Âme and my brother,
- Billy.
- 660
- 00:27:23,118 --> 00:27:25,540
- ♪ ♪
- 661
- 00:27:25,540 --> 00:27:27,794
- And this is what we call
- a moonshot.
- 662
- 00:27:27,794 --> 00:27:30,049
- [laughs]
- 663
- 00:27:30,049 --> 00:27:33,640
- †I checked the calendar.
- Checked the date.
- 664
- 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:35,392
- All I did was just
- scratch my head.
- 665
- 00:27:35,392 --> 00:27:39,317
- I was like, "Boy, I don't know
- if this shit can happen."
- 666
- 00:27:39,317 --> 00:27:41,989
- †Get ready, baby.
- Fyre Festival coming in April.
- 667
- 00:27:41,989 --> 00:27:44,285
- The best shit in the world.
- 668
- 00:27:44,285 --> 00:27:48,670
- ♪ ♪
- 669
- 00:27:48,670 --> 00:27:50,507
- DAVE: I'm in
- the music business.
- 670
- 00:27:50,507 --> 00:27:52,469
- Everyone talks.
- 671
- 00:27:52,469 --> 00:27:56,309
- And we started hearing these
- rumors that Ja Rule
- 672
- 00:27:56,309 --> 00:27:59,983
- was working on this highâ€Âend
- event in the Bahamas
- 673
- 00:27:59,983 --> 00:28:01,946
- called Fyre Festival
- 674
- 00:28:01,946 --> 00:28:03,991
- and it was gonna
- be really expensiveâ€Ââ€Â
- 675
- 00:28:03,991 --> 00:28:09,252
- villas, private yacht rides,
- exclusive dinners with artists.
- 676
- 00:28:09,252 --> 00:28:14,095
- This utopian concept that's
- about culture and art
- 677
- 00:28:14,095 --> 00:28:16,182
- and musicâ€Ââ€Â
- 678
- 00:28:16,182 --> 00:28:19,313
- that kind of festival culture
- that, "We could create
- 679
- 00:28:19,313 --> 00:28:22,988
- our own society here
- temporarily."
- 680
- 00:28:22,988 --> 00:28:26,954
- It started with Woodstock
- and Monterey Pop.
- 681
- 00:28:26,954 --> 00:28:29,375
- †This is our generation, man.
- We're all together, man.
- 682
- 00:28:29,375 --> 00:28:30,962
- It's groovy.
- 683
- 00:28:30,962 --> 00:28:34,218
- DAVE: Fast forward to the '80s
- and Live Aid.
- 684
- 00:28:34,218 --> 00:28:35,262
- †We love you!
- 685
- 00:28:35,262 --> 00:28:36,682
- DAVE: And then in the '90s,
- 686
- 00:28:36,682 --> 00:28:39,897
- Perry Farrell
- launched Lollapalooza.
- 687
- 00:28:39,897 --> 00:28:42,611
- And there was Burning Man.
- 688
- 00:28:42,611 --> 00:28:47,871
- But in 1999, Goldenvoice
- launched Coachella.
- 689
- 00:28:47,871 --> 00:28:51,377
- There was no VIP area.
- There was no glamping.
- 690
- 00:28:51,377 --> 00:28:56,054
- It was a site in the desert and
- hot dogs and porta potties.
- 691
- 00:28:56,054 --> 00:28:58,976
- That's really the start
- of the modern festival movement
- 692
- 00:28:58,976 --> 00:29:01,649
- in North America.
- 693
- 00:29:01,649 --> 00:29:04,278
- But now Coachella
- is $100 million,
- 694
- 00:29:04,278 --> 00:29:07,117
- almost highâ€Âend luxury event.
- 695
- 00:29:07,117 --> 00:29:09,915
- It seems like, you know,
- only the very wealthy
- 696
- 00:29:09,915 --> 00:29:13,171
- can afford to really have
- a comfortable experience.
- 697
- 00:29:13,171 --> 00:29:16,470
- JIA: Coachella is about putting
- on your deeply inappropriate
- 698
- 00:29:16,470 --> 00:29:18,348
- feather headdress and,
- like, posing in front
- 699
- 00:29:18,348 --> 00:29:20,060
- of the Ferris wheel.
- 700
- 00:29:20,060 --> 00:29:22,607
- It's like, "I've got money.
- I've got tons of friends.
- 701
- 00:29:22,607 --> 00:29:25,655
- I'm, like, young and attractive
- and carefree."
- 702
- 00:29:25,655 --> 00:29:28,452
- And the music festival's
- a great place to display that.
- 703
- 00:29:28,452 --> 00:29:31,249
- And there a lot of people
- in the millennial generation
- 704
- 00:29:31,249 --> 00:29:32,794
- that are interested
- in experiences
- 705
- 00:29:32,794 --> 00:29:34,213
- that are effectively, like,
- 706
- 00:29:34,213 --> 00:29:37,136
- pretext for really
- good Instagrams.
- 707
- 00:29:37,136 --> 00:29:39,558
- †[yelps]
- 708
- 00:29:39,558 --> 00:29:41,520
- †And I hate to speak on behalf
- of millennials,
- 709
- 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:42,898
- 'cause there's nothing worse
- than a millennial
- 710
- 00:29:42,898 --> 00:29:44,066
- speaking on behalf
- of millennials.
- 711
- 00:29:44,066 --> 00:29:46,154
- †I'm sorry, who are you again?
- 712
- 00:29:46,154 --> 00:29:48,283
- ANNOUNCER: "The Millennials."
- 713
- 00:29:48,283 --> 00:29:50,580
- †Some of the stereotypes
- about millennials are true.
- 714
- 00:29:50,580 --> 00:29:52,709
- †Taking a break
- from social media.
- 715
- 00:29:52,709 --> 00:29:55,047
- JAKE: We are obsessed
- with our phones.
- 716
- 00:29:55,047 --> 00:29:56,926
- ALL: No!
- 717
- 00:29:56,926 --> 00:29:59,138
- †We are a little
- bit narcissistic.
- 718
- 00:29:59,138 --> 00:30:03,898
- †I think that I may be
- the voice of my generation.
- 719
- 00:30:03,898 --> 00:30:05,777
- JAKE: A little bit arrogant
- as a generation,
- 720
- 00:30:05,777 --> 00:30:07,739
- I guess you could say.
- 721
- 00:30:07,739 --> 00:30:09,910
- CALVIN: But certainly,
- our generation
- 722
- 00:30:09,910 --> 00:30:12,414
- loves to be a part of the hype.
- 723
- 00:30:12,414 --> 00:30:15,755
- We identify ourselves with
- what we're attached to
- 724
- 00:30:15,755 --> 00:30:18,051
- or who's involved or who
- follows us or who likes us
- 725
- 00:30:18,051 --> 00:30:20,473
- or who comments.
- "Do I have a blue checkmark?"
- 726
- 00:30:20,473 --> 00:30:22,644
- "Am I trending
- at the right event?
- 727
- 00:30:22,644 --> 00:30:24,898
- You're either tagged in posts
- or you're sharing memes
- 728
- 00:30:24,898 --> 00:30:27,529
- or you're sending videos that
- everyone can relate to
- 729
- 00:30:27,529 --> 00:30:31,453
- and laugh, like Star Wars kids
- or dramatic gopher
- 730
- 00:30:31,453 --> 00:30:33,874
- or Antoine Dodson.
- 731
- 00:30:33,874 --> 00:30:37,214
- You see what everyone else
- is doing.
- 732
- 00:30:37,214 --> 00:30:41,097
- The fact that you're
- not there creates this fear
- 733
- 00:30:41,097 --> 00:30:43,393
- that you're less
- of an individual.
- 734
- 00:30:43,393 --> 00:30:44,646
- BILLY: I think the world's
- always been where
- 735
- 00:30:44,646 --> 00:30:45,898
- there's always
- somebody smarter,
- 736
- 00:30:45,898 --> 00:30:47,527
- more successful,
- betterâ€Âlooking,
- 737
- 00:30:47,527 --> 00:30:49,948
- taller, whatever than you,
- but people didn't see it
- 738
- 00:30:49,948 --> 00:30:52,119
- as much as they're
- exposed to it now.
- 739
- 00:30:52,119 --> 00:30:54,458
- They weren't in your face
- all day long.
- 740
- 00:30:54,458 --> 00:30:57,087
- And that's what drives a lot
- of these things.
- 741
- 00:30:57,087 --> 00:31:00,678
- †It's tapping into FOMOâ€Ââ€Â
- fear of missing out,
- 742
- 00:31:00,678 --> 00:31:02,432
- which is kind of a core thing
- 743
- 00:31:02,432 --> 00:31:03,934
- for millennials.
- 744
- 00:31:03,934 --> 00:31:05,395
- †If I missed out
- on chili and cheese,
- 745
- 00:31:05,395 --> 00:31:06,774
- I'd have a bad case of FOMO.
- †FOMO?
- 746
- 00:31:06,774 --> 00:31:08,109
- †Fear of missing out.
- 747
- 00:31:08,109 --> 00:31:09,696
- †So you're, like,
- a millennial?
- 748
- 00:31:09,696 --> 00:31:11,407
- JIA: FOMO is something
- that was invented
- 749
- 00:31:11,407 --> 00:31:13,704
- by the social media paradigm.
- 750
- 00:31:13,704 --> 00:31:17,127
- It's this underlying anxiety
- where if you don't continue
- 751
- 00:31:17,127 --> 00:31:18,964
- to escalate your visibility,
- 752
- 00:31:18,964 --> 00:31:20,551
- your identity will start
- 753
- 00:31:20,551 --> 00:31:22,722
- to crumble in pieces.
- 754
- 00:31:22,722 --> 00:31:25,770
- VICKIE: Millennials are
- spending around twoâ€Âhoursâ€Âplus
- 755
- 00:31:25,770 --> 00:31:27,565
- a day on social media.
- 756
- 00:31:27,565 --> 00:31:29,903
- †Every day, I start by hitting
- up Facebook, Twitter,
- 757
- 00:31:29,903 --> 00:31:31,239
- Tumblr, and Instagram.
- 758
- 00:31:31,239 --> 00:31:32,992
- †If you're not relevant
- in social media,
- 759
- 00:31:32,992 --> 00:31:36,625
- if you're not talked about,
- you don't exist.
- 760
- 00:31:36,625 --> 00:31:38,879
- Instagram,
- social media marketing,
- 761
- 00:31:38,879 --> 00:31:41,844
- influencer marketing
- is the most impactful form
- 762
- 00:31:41,844 --> 00:31:45,518
- of marketing for
- an entire generation.
- 763
- 00:31:45,518 --> 00:31:49,191
- So, an influencer is anyone
- with a social following.
- 764
- 00:31:49,191 --> 00:31:52,824
- There are plenty of people who
- are models and celebrities
- 765
- 00:31:52,824 --> 00:31:55,496
- that have influence,
- like Kendall Jenner,
- 766
- 00:31:55,496 --> 00:31:58,334
- Hailey Baldwin,
- Bella Hadid.
- 767
- 00:31:58,334 --> 00:31:59,754
- We call them macros,
- 768
- 00:31:59,754 --> 00:32:02,384
- but those are celebrity
- influencers.
- 769
- 00:32:02,384 --> 00:32:05,474
- JIA: What an influencer is
- is someone who has effectively
- 770
- 00:32:05,474 --> 00:32:07,854
- monetized their identity.
- 771
- 00:32:07,854 --> 00:32:10,066
- That is their work:
- 772
- 00:32:10,066 --> 00:32:13,449
- the performance
- of an attractive life.
- 773
- 00:32:13,449 --> 00:32:16,204
- That is their job.
- 774
- 00:32:16,204 --> 00:32:19,084
- †I'm Austin Mills.
- I do a lot of TV hosting.
- 775
- 00:32:19,084 --> 00:32:22,090
- I do some social media
- influencing.
- 776
- 00:32:22,090 --> 00:32:24,386
- †My name's Alyssa Lynch.
- 777
- 00:32:24,386 --> 00:32:29,439
- I have almost half a million
- followers on Instagram.
- 778
- 00:32:29,439 --> 00:32:31,610
- ♪ ♪
- 779
- 00:32:31,610 --> 00:32:32,946
- SETH: So, my name is Seth.
- 780
- 00:32:32,946 --> 00:32:35,033
- [music winds down]
- 781
- 00:32:35,033 --> 00:32:37,956
- †I don't know who that is.
- 782
- 00:32:37,956 --> 00:32:40,419
- SETH: I created this
- influencer character,
- 783
- 00:32:40,419 --> 00:32:42,840
- William Needham Finley IV,
- 784
- 00:32:42,840 --> 00:32:45,262
- the most influential
- influencer.
- 785
- 00:32:45,262 --> 00:32:50,105
- I'm just kinda poking fun at
- the whole influencer culture.
- 786
- 00:32:50,105 --> 00:32:52,276
- It's all a joke.
- 787
- 00:32:52,276 --> 00:32:54,405
- [quirky music]
- 788
- 00:32:54,405 --> 00:32:57,453
- JAKE: Everybody is now an
- influencer in a certain sense.
- 789
- 00:32:57,453 --> 00:32:59,123
- Everybody is a brand.
- 790
- 00:33:02,296 --> 00:33:05,469
- †Um, when I say "my brand,"
- um, I just mean
- 791
- 00:33:05,469 --> 00:33:08,016
- kind of, like, the lifestyle
- that I want to live.
- 792
- 00:33:08,016 --> 00:33:10,228
- So, positivity, um...
- 793
- 00:33:10,228 --> 00:33:12,608
- ♪ ♪
- 794
- 00:33:12,608 --> 00:33:18,119
- †Health, wellness,
- and honestly just, like,
- 795
- 00:33:18,119 --> 00:33:19,914
- positivity.
- 796
- 00:33:19,914 --> 00:33:24,256
- VICKIE: I look at influencers
- as really brave people.
- 797
- 00:33:24,256 --> 00:33:27,889
- They're sharing
- a lot of information
- 798
- 00:33:27,889 --> 00:33:30,603
- and they're sort of taking one
- for the team
- 799
- 00:33:30,603 --> 00:33:33,358
- for all of us
- to relate to them.
- 800
- 00:33:33,358 --> 00:33:38,744
- And FuckJerry was one
- of the original influencers.
- 801
- 00:33:38,744 --> 00:33:41,917
- REPORTER: Believe it or not,
- 27â€Âyearâ€Âold Elliot Tebele
- 802
- 00:33:41,917 --> 00:33:43,837
- makes memes for a living.
- 803
- 00:33:43,837 --> 00:33:45,633
- JIA: FuckJerry's part
- of the same ecosystem
- 804
- 00:33:45,633 --> 00:33:48,597
- that produced influencer
- marketing in the first place.
- 805
- 00:33:48,597 --> 00:33:50,392
- JAMES: If you wanna learn how
- to dominate social media
- 806
- 00:33:50,392 --> 00:33:53,649
- and how you make money
- off of it, watch.
- 807
- 00:33:53,649 --> 00:33:55,861
- MAN: We come up with campaigns
- for big brands.
- 808
- 00:33:55,861 --> 00:33:57,824
- We produce the pictures
- and the videos.
- 809
- 00:33:57,824 --> 00:34:00,496
- We post it to their Instagram,
- Facebook, or YouTube
- 810
- 00:34:00,496 --> 00:34:03,084
- because you've got all of these
- brands that are trying
- 811
- 00:34:03,084 --> 00:34:05,088
- to get in on
- the viral meme game.
- 812
- 00:34:05,088 --> 00:34:07,175
- These big brands don't know
- how to think like we do.
- 813
- 00:34:07,175 --> 00:34:09,138
- †You now have 30 million
- followers across
- 814
- 00:34:09,138 --> 00:34:11,100
- the entire Jerry network.
- 815
- 00:34:11,100 --> 00:34:14,816
- †The campaign objective is to
- truly shift mainstream opinion.
- 816
- 00:34:14,816 --> 00:34:16,402
- †What's up, fam?
- †He's the CEO.
- 817
- 00:34:16,402 --> 00:34:18,782
- He's a lot smarter
- than he looks.
- 818
- 00:34:18,782 --> 00:34:22,164
- VICKIE: It doesn't surprise me
- that Fyre would turn
- 819
- 00:34:22,164 --> 00:34:25,170
- to a social media marketing
- entity like FuckJerry
- 820
- 00:34:25,170 --> 00:34:28,384
- because that's what
- they do best.
- 821
- 00:34:31,933 --> 00:34:36,066
- OREN: I was on the FuckJerry
- design team.
- 822
- 00:34:36,066 --> 00:34:39,782
- The first client that they
- gave me was Fyre Festival.
- 823
- 00:34:39,782 --> 00:34:42,287
- This was supposed to be
- the new Coachella,
- 824
- 00:34:42,287 --> 00:34:45,126
- the new Burning Man,
- the new whatever.
- 825
- 00:34:45,126 --> 00:34:48,049
- And I was designing it.
- 826
- 00:34:48,049 --> 00:34:50,763
- [light music]
- 827
- 00:34:50,763 --> 00:34:53,602
- I came to a meeting with Fyre.
- 828
- 00:34:53,602 --> 00:34:56,315
- In the meeting it was like, uh,
- you know, two agencies
- 829
- 00:34:56,315 --> 00:34:57,944
- never met each other but
- bidding kind of
- 830
- 00:34:57,944 --> 00:34:59,989
- for the same business.
- So it was very, like...
- 831
- 00:34:59,989 --> 00:35:01,535
- [clicks tongue]
- "Who are you guys?"
- 832
- 00:35:01,535 --> 00:35:03,914
- Like, "We don't want anything
- to do with you."
- 833
- 00:35:03,914 --> 00:35:06,795
- The Fyre team said they wanted
- to do a music festival
- 834
- 00:35:06,795 --> 00:35:09,467
- in the Bahamas,
- but they wanted to do it
- 835
- 00:35:09,467 --> 00:35:11,596
- in only six months.
- 836
- 00:35:11,596 --> 00:35:13,725
- I'm like, "Whoa."
- 837
- 00:35:13,725 --> 00:35:15,771
- [light music dies, restarts]
- 838
- 00:35:15,771 --> 00:35:18,025
- The second we stepped outside
- onto the street
- 839
- 00:35:18,025 --> 00:35:20,948
- with the other agency,
- it was kind of a quick exchange
- 840
- 00:35:20,948 --> 00:35:23,829
- of, likeâ€Ââ€Â
- [exhales sharply]
- 841
- 00:35:23,829 --> 00:35:26,250
- "This is crazy."
- 842
- 00:35:26,250 --> 00:35:29,674
- Like, and both of us were like,
- "This can't happen."
- 843
- 00:35:29,674 --> 00:35:31,761
- Like, "This will never work."
- 844
- 00:35:31,761 --> 00:35:34,266
- Saying it out loud on the
- street justâ€Ââ€Âand being like,
- 845
- 00:35:34,266 --> 00:35:37,314
- "Well, let's, uhâ€Ââ€Â
- let's just do it.
- 846
- 00:35:37,314 --> 00:35:39,026
- It'll probably be fine."
- 847
- 00:35:39,026 --> 00:35:42,115
- Like, "We're, you knowâ€Ââ€Â
- We're both pros at what we do.
- 848
- 00:35:42,115 --> 00:35:44,328
- What could go wrong?"
- 849
- 00:35:44,328 --> 00:35:46,875
- ♪ ♪
- 850
- 00:35:46,875 --> 00:35:50,006
- JAKE: Billy understood the
- sense that you need to be part
- 851
- 00:35:50,006 --> 00:35:51,927
- of this world of statusâ€Ââ€Â
- that you need to be
- 852
- 00:35:51,927 --> 00:35:54,599
- where influencers
- and Instagram stars are.
- 853
- 00:35:54,599 --> 00:35:56,478
- BEN: And so what did he do?
- 854
- 00:35:56,478 --> 00:35:58,482
- He stole money from people,
- basically,
- 855
- 00:35:58,482 --> 00:36:00,986
- and did a commercial.
- 856
- 00:36:00,986 --> 00:36:04,368
- MICHAEL: I get a call
- for a job in the Bahamas.
- 857
- 00:36:04,368 --> 00:36:06,915
- What they told us was this
- client was pretty much here
- 858
- 00:36:06,915 --> 00:36:08,209
- to party.
- 859
- 00:36:08,209 --> 00:36:09,963
- †Yo, everybody come here.
- Yo.
- 860
- 00:36:09,963 --> 00:36:11,633
- †Cameras, get us coming
- up on him.
- 861
- 00:36:11,633 --> 00:36:12,635
- †Get right here.
- †Hey, the camerasâ€Ââ€Â
- 862
- 00:36:12,635 --> 00:36:14,304
- †Yo.
- 863
- 00:36:14,304 --> 00:36:16,058
- †And so we needed to keep it
- professional and get
- 864
- 00:36:16,058 --> 00:36:17,770
- the commercial out of the shoot
- even if things around us
- 865
- 00:36:17,770 --> 00:36:19,231
- were chaotic.
- 866
- 00:36:19,231 --> 00:36:20,651
- MAN: When are we leaving?
- Right now?
- 867
- 00:36:20,651 --> 00:36:24,366
- MAN: Yeah, we're
- leaving right now.
- 868
- 00:36:24,366 --> 00:36:26,328
- †It was one
- of the more ridiculous,
- 869
- 00:36:26,328 --> 00:36:28,625
- ambitious creative treatments
- that I'd seen.
- 870
- 00:36:28,625 --> 00:36:31,130
- Included on it was, you know,
- getting the models
- 871
- 00:36:31,130 --> 00:36:33,092
- swimming with sharks
- in open water.
- 872
- 00:36:33,092 --> 00:36:35,806
- That M. I. A. music video
- on the runway with the cars
- 873
- 00:36:35,806 --> 00:36:37,727
- where they're all, like,
- riding sidewaysâ€Ââ€Â
- 874
- 00:36:37,727 --> 00:36:39,939
- we wanted to do something
- like that with golf carts
- 875
- 00:36:39,939 --> 00:36:41,443
- on an airplane runway.
- 876
- 00:36:41,443 --> 00:36:43,655
- ♪ ♪
- 877
- 00:36:43,655 --> 00:36:47,580
- Pretty quickly became clear
- that it was unfeasible.
- 878
- 00:36:47,580 --> 00:36:49,207
- Everyone kept talking,
- "When are we gonna go
- 879
- 00:36:49,207 --> 00:36:51,295
- to the pig island?
- I'm excited for pig island."
- 880
- 00:36:51,295 --> 00:36:54,217
- Okay, I guess it's an island
- with a bunch of pigs.
- 881
- 00:36:54,217 --> 00:36:56,514
- And as soon as we get there,
- they're all swimming up
- 882
- 00:36:56,514 --> 00:36:57,767
- and someone's
- feeding them beer
- 883
- 00:36:57,767 --> 00:36:59,812
- and thinks it's funny.
- 884
- 00:36:59,812 --> 00:37:01,356
- And they'reâ€Ââ€Âyou know,
- they're like pigeons
- 885
- 00:37:01,356 --> 00:37:03,862
- except they're pigs
- with mouths and teeth.
- 886
- 00:37:03,862 --> 00:37:05,783
- †[screams]
- 887
- 00:37:05,783 --> 00:37:07,661
- †[screaming, laughing]
- 888
- 00:37:07,661 --> 00:37:08,955
- †Oh, my God.
- 889
- 00:37:08,955 --> 00:37:10,374
- †Get down here.
- Get down here
- 890
- 00:37:10,374 --> 00:37:12,295
- Back up, back up.
- 891
- 00:37:12,295 --> 00:37:14,592
- MICHAEL: Chanel Iman actually
- fell 'cause she's getting bit
- 892
- 00:37:14,592 --> 00:37:16,554
- by a pig.
- 893
- 00:37:16,554 --> 00:37:19,142
- The pigs at one point bit Billy
- in the balls
- 894
- 00:37:19,142 --> 00:37:22,273
- and he's running off,
- and people are just laughing.
- 895
- 00:37:22,273 --> 00:37:24,194
- And my point guy was Grant.
- 896
- 00:37:24,194 --> 00:37:30,916
- Um, he was just overly excited
- about pretty much everything.
- 897
- 00:37:30,916 --> 00:37:34,715
- DAVE: Somebody had leaked to us
- this thousandâ€Âword email
- 898
- 00:37:34,715 --> 00:37:37,429
- that Grant sent out to his
- staff about how the video
- 899
- 00:37:37,429 --> 00:37:39,057
- should be scored.
- 900
- 00:37:39,057 --> 00:37:41,729
- [Ludwig van Beethoven's
- "Symphony No. 5"]
- 901
- 00:37:41,729 --> 00:37:43,859
- ♪ ♪
- 902
- 00:37:43,859 --> 00:37:47,700
- [man screaming]
- 903
- 00:37:47,700 --> 00:37:51,666
- Someone created a composition
- based on it,
- 904
- 00:37:51,666 --> 00:37:53,795
- and this is the actual piece.
- 905
- 00:37:53,795 --> 00:37:57,135
- I'm going to read
- the actual letter.
- 906
- 00:37:57,135 --> 00:37:59,515
- [voice overlapping]
- "I want to use odd meters
- 907
- 00:37:59,515 --> 00:38:01,018
- and compounded time
- signatures."
- 908
- 00:38:01,018 --> 00:38:02,438
- "Global music elements."
- 909
- 00:38:02,438 --> 00:38:03,607
- "Extremely constant key
- signatures."
- 910
- 00:38:03,607 --> 00:38:04,942
- He mentioned using a xylophone;
- 911
- 00:38:04,942 --> 00:38:06,738
- a surdo,
- which is a Brazilian drum;
- 912
- 00:38:06,738 --> 00:38:10,286
- "tiko drums," especially
- during the "more exploratory
- 913
- 00:38:10,286 --> 00:38:11,956
- elements" of the composition.
- 914
- 00:38:11,956 --> 00:38:13,543
- [upbeat music]
- 915
- 00:38:13,543 --> 00:38:17,342
- It just reeks of disconnection
- from reality.
- 916
- 00:38:17,342 --> 00:38:18,762
- ♪ ♪
- 917
- 00:38:18,762 --> 00:38:21,517
- OREN: Once video production
- was done,
- 918
- 00:38:21,517 --> 00:38:23,897
- FuckJerry has to market
- this thing.
- 919
- 00:38:23,897 --> 00:38:27,613
- My whole idea was like,
- stop the Internet.
- 920
- 00:38:27,613 --> 00:38:29,533
- And so to do that,
- you have to kind of
- 921
- 00:38:29,533 --> 00:38:33,875
- figure out a way, in this time
- of advertising, how to
- 922
- 00:38:33,875 --> 00:38:37,549
- stop somebody who's scrolling
- at speeds that are likeâ€Ââ€Â
- 923
- 00:38:37,549 --> 00:38:39,428
- you have less than
- a second, most times.
- 924
- 00:38:39,428 --> 00:38:40,973
- Every influencer
- that you follow,
- 925
- 00:38:40,973 --> 00:38:44,312
- every art account,
- every food page,
- 926
- 00:38:44,312 --> 00:38:46,901
- whatever they're posting
- is not neon orange.
- 927
- 00:38:46,901 --> 00:38:48,446
- That's a stopper.
- 928
- 00:38:48,446 --> 00:38:51,368
- That's gonna stop as fast
- as you're scrolling.
- 929
- 00:38:51,368 --> 00:38:53,205
- And now I've got
- your attention.
- 930
- 00:38:53,205 --> 00:38:56,713
- †We think about visual
- disruption all the time.
- 931
- 00:38:56,713 --> 00:38:59,134
- You have a ton of sameness
- in your feed,
- 932
- 00:38:59,134 --> 00:39:02,975
- and something like an orange
- square creates pause.
- 933
- 00:39:02,975 --> 00:39:06,315
- BILLY: We had 400 musicians,
- athletes, models,
- 934
- 00:39:06,315 --> 00:39:10,031
- actors at the same time post
- this orange tile to Instagram.
- 935
- 00:39:10,031 --> 00:39:12,828
- OREN: And everyone that you
- love and follow is now
- 936
- 00:39:12,828 --> 00:39:14,874
- feeding into it,
- and you're going crazy.
- 937
- 00:39:14,874 --> 00:39:16,627
- You need the answers.
- 938
- 00:39:16,627 --> 00:39:18,088
- BILLY: Our target customers
- when they were browsing
- 939
- 00:39:18,088 --> 00:39:19,090
- their Instagram feed,
- they were like,
- 940
- 00:39:19,090 --> 00:39:20,552
- "What is this?
- 941
- 00:39:20,552 --> 00:39:22,431
- Why is there orange
- all over my feed?"
- 942
- 00:39:22,431 --> 00:39:24,894
- CALVIN: These guys figured out
- a way to optimize
- 943
- 00:39:24,894 --> 00:39:27,023
- social mediaâ€Ââ€Â
- almost weaponize it.
- 944
- 00:39:27,023 --> 00:39:28,860
- OREN: When you click
- the orange tile,
- 945
- 00:39:28,860 --> 00:39:30,989
- it linked to the video.
- 946
- 00:39:30,989 --> 00:39:32,785
- And it worked perfectly.
- 947
- 00:39:32,785 --> 00:39:34,914
- JAKE: Almost immediately,
- the promo video
- 948
- 00:39:34,914 --> 00:39:36,542
- goes completely viral.
- 949
- 00:39:36,542 --> 00:39:39,673
- MAN: The actual experience
- exceeds all expectations
- 950
- 00:39:39,673 --> 00:39:42,136
- and is something that's
- hard to put into words.
- 951
- 00:39:42,136 --> 00:39:47,021
- All these things that may seem
- big and impossible are not.
- 952
- 00:39:47,021 --> 00:39:49,610
- It gives people that
- type of energy.
- 953
- 00:39:49,610 --> 00:39:52,031
- That type of power.
- 954
- 00:39:52,031 --> 00:39:55,539
- JIA: The promo video was
- perfectly generic fantasia
- 955
- 00:39:55,539 --> 00:39:58,962
- of what an Instagram
- come to life would be.
- 956
- 00:39:58,962 --> 00:40:04,557
- It was nothing but backdrop,
- like, montageâ€Âfriendly bliss.
- 957
- 00:40:04,557 --> 00:40:08,188
- EMILY: The boat is going across
- the blue waters of the Exuma
- 958
- 00:40:08,188 --> 00:40:10,109
- and all of these, like,
- really hot models are, like,
- 959
- 00:40:10,109 --> 00:40:12,531
- dancing around and then there's
- just random white guys there
- 960
- 00:40:12,531 --> 00:40:14,159
- for, like, who knows
- what reason.
- 961
- 00:40:14,159 --> 00:40:16,413
- CALVIN: Beautiful women
- on a deserted island?
- 962
- 00:40:16,413 --> 00:40:18,835
- Yeah, 100%, I'm going.
- Take my money.
- 963
- 00:40:18,835 --> 00:40:20,797
- Here, Iâ€Ââ€ÂI will throw
- my credit card at it.
- 964
- 00:40:20,797 --> 00:40:23,302
- DAVE: You see these super
- models on jet skis
- 965
- 00:40:23,302 --> 00:40:25,849
- and you're thinking like, "Wow,
- I really want to be there."
- 966
- 00:40:25,849 --> 00:40:28,353
- CALVIN: It was going to be
- on a deserted island
- 967
- 00:40:28,353 --> 00:40:30,024
- owned by Pablo Escobar.
- 968
- 00:40:30,024 --> 00:40:32,654
- Man, that's about as sexy
- as it gets.
- 969
- 00:40:32,654 --> 00:40:35,159
- OREN: Pablo Escobar's actually,
- like, a criminal
- 970
- 00:40:35,159 --> 00:40:37,413
- who's murdered people brutally.
- 971
- 00:40:37,413 --> 00:40:40,127
- And I was getting messagesâ€Ââ€Â
- again on Instagramâ€Ââ€Â
- 972
- 00:40:40,127 --> 00:40:42,841
- private messages from people
- telling me their parents
- 973
- 00:40:42,841 --> 00:40:45,430
- were murdered by Pablo Escobar,
- and I'm theâ€Ââ€Â
- 974
- 00:40:45,430 --> 00:40:47,893
- I'm the social media guy.
- What am I supposed to...
- 975
- 00:40:47,893 --> 00:40:50,482
- [dramatic music]
- 976
- 00:40:50,482 --> 00:40:53,821
- CALVIN: Then Billy convinces
- Kendall Jenner,
- 977
- 00:40:53,821 --> 00:40:56,827
- one of the largest influencers
- in the world,
- 978
- 00:40:56,827 --> 00:40:59,833
- to post about
- the Fyre Festival.
- 979
- 00:40:59,833 --> 00:41:02,881
- VICKIE: Kendall Jenner
- is defining a generation.
- 980
- 00:41:02,881 --> 00:41:06,764
- She can take a brand
- from zero awareness
- 981
- 00:41:06,764 --> 00:41:09,269
- to a brand that has
- a phenomenal amount
- 982
- 00:41:09,269 --> 00:41:12,108
- of brand equity
- with one social media post.
- 983
- 00:41:12,108 --> 00:41:15,114
- CALVIN: By some accounts,
- she gets paid $250,000
- 984
- 00:41:15,114 --> 00:41:16,241
- per post.
- 985
- 00:41:16,241 --> 00:41:18,328
- †I think 250's a steal.
- 986
- 00:41:18,328 --> 00:41:20,500
- †To, like, post
- how many Instagrams?
- 987
- 00:41:20,500 --> 00:41:22,504
- One?
- 988
- 00:41:22,504 --> 00:41:24,340
- CALVIN: The point of Kendall's
- post was to announce
- 989
- 00:41:24,340 --> 00:41:28,474
- that G. O. O. D. Music
- was involved with the festival.
- 990
- 00:41:28,474 --> 00:41:31,814
- OREN: But there was this huge
- meltdown on the Fyre side.
- 991
- 00:41:31,814 --> 00:41:34,486
- "We're ready to go."
- Everyone's freaking out.
- 992
- 00:41:34,486 --> 00:41:35,822
- "No, hold on.
- Hold on."
- 993
- 00:41:35,822 --> 00:41:38,828
- "Launch it."
- "No, don't"â€Ââ€Âlike...
- 994
- 00:41:38,828 --> 00:41:41,124
- we eventually got it up.
- 995
- 00:41:41,124 --> 00:41:43,838
- CALVIN: And so when she does
- post about the Fyre Festival,
- 996
- 00:41:43,838 --> 00:41:46,384
- she gets millions
- of impressions.
- 997
- 00:41:46,384 --> 00:41:49,307
- So the presupposition,
- at least on social media,
- 998
- 00:41:49,307 --> 00:41:52,021
- was that Kanye was gonna be
- performing at this festival.
- 999
- 00:41:52,021 --> 00:41:55,194
- DAVE: Who would wanna miss
- seeing Kanye in the Bahamas
- 1000
- 00:41:55,194 --> 00:41:57,323
- with Kendall Jenner?
- I mean, talk about
- 1001
- 00:41:57,323 --> 00:41:58,534
- the FOMO movement.
- 1002
- 00:41:58,534 --> 00:42:00,245
- Like, it elevated it
- to a ten.
- 1003
- 00:42:00,245 --> 00:42:03,126
- †I had influencers
- begging to go
- 1004
- 00:42:03,126 --> 00:42:06,132
- because all the other
- influencers are going.
- 1005
- 00:42:06,132 --> 00:42:07,886
- CALVIN: You're in Lower
- Manhattan,
- 1006
- 00:42:07,886 --> 00:42:09,598
- where you're freezing.
- 1007
- 00:42:09,598 --> 00:42:12,019
- You got an election
- that just upended
- 1008
- 00:42:12,019 --> 00:42:13,606
- the political environment.
- 1009
- 00:42:13,606 --> 00:42:15,777
- The thing that you're
- absolutely focused on
- 1010
- 00:42:15,777 --> 00:42:17,906
- is escaping from that.
- 1011
- 00:42:17,906 --> 00:42:20,537
- And so people are dying
- to be a part of something
- 1012
- 00:42:20,537 --> 00:42:22,624
- that was going to be theâ€Ââ€Â
- the Woodstock
- 1013
- 00:42:22,624 --> 00:42:25,045
- of the millennial generation.
- 1014
- 00:42:25,045 --> 00:42:27,133
- †People would message me
- things like,
- 1015
- 00:42:27,133 --> 00:42:31,266
- "I quit my job because my boss
- wouldn't give me time off."
- 1016
- 00:42:31,266 --> 00:42:34,397
- "I sold, like,
- everything I own."
- 1017
- 00:42:34,397 --> 00:42:37,319
- And just listing all these
- crazy actions that they took
- 1018
- 00:42:37,319 --> 00:42:42,664
- just to go to this fantasy
- island festival.
- 1019
- 00:42:42,664 --> 00:42:45,002
- But there was nothing built.
- 1020
- 00:42:46,922 --> 00:42:48,718
- JAKE: And mind you,
- this is January,
- 1021
- 00:42:48,718 --> 00:42:51,640
- so there's only four months
- to actually pull this off.
- 1022
- 00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:53,811
- ♪ ♪
- 1023
- 00:42:53,811 --> 00:42:56,399
- CALVIN: You could not produce
- a festival on a deserted island
- 1024
- 00:42:56,399 --> 00:43:00,700
- in a foreign country with such
- a truncated time frame.
- 1025
- 00:43:00,700 --> 00:43:02,411
- It's not going to happen.
- 1026
- 00:43:02,411 --> 00:43:05,919
- †Billy started panicking.
- Billy's like, "No. Shit."
- 1027
- 00:43:05,919 --> 00:43:09,760
- He said, "Listen, people are
- actually buying into it,
- 1028
- 00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:12,306
- soâ€Ââ€Âso we have to have a
- festival."
- 1029
- 00:43:12,306 --> 00:43:16,064
- New Year's Eve, we had a dinner
- party in Staniel Cay.
- 1030
- 00:43:16,064 --> 00:43:19,028
- †Here's to living
- like movie stars,
- 1031
- 00:43:19,028 --> 00:43:23,411
- partying like rock stars.
- Billy?
- 1032
- 00:43:23,411 --> 00:43:25,332
- BILLY: And fucking
- like porn stars.
- 1033
- 00:43:25,332 --> 00:43:29,591
- [laughter]
- 1034
- 00:43:29,591 --> 00:43:32,597
- [excited chatter]
- 1035
- 00:43:33,139 --> 00:43:35,227
- DELROY: After everybody
- got done, I stood up.
- 1036
- 00:43:35,227 --> 00:43:37,106
- I said, "Okay, can I have
- someâ€Ââ€Â
- 1037
- 00:43:37,106 --> 00:43:40,279
- like, a moment of silence?"
- It's like, "Yeah. What's up?"
- 1038
- 00:43:40,279 --> 00:43:44,287
- I said, "Okay, everybody,
- wine, dine, eat, drink.
- 1039
- 00:43:44,287 --> 00:43:47,084
- "Who didn't fuck got suck?
- Who didn't suck
- 1040
- 00:43:47,084 --> 00:43:49,798
- "had a good fuck?
- Good.
- 1041
- 00:43:49,798 --> 00:43:51,844
- "Now as of tomorrow,
- 1042
- 00:43:51,844 --> 00:43:54,516
- "you guys need to start
- making your phone calls,
- 1043
- 00:43:54,516 --> 00:43:56,227
- "dealing with the festival
- 1044
- 00:43:56,227 --> 00:43:59,275
- to get this shit to start
- coming in now."
- 1045
- 00:43:59,275 --> 00:44:00,945
- Everybody looked at me,
- and they laughed.
- 1046
- 00:44:00,945 --> 00:44:03,241
- They said,
- "Delroy, sit down, man."
- 1047
- 00:44:03,241 --> 00:44:05,078
- They said, "Why are you
- so worried?
- 1048
- 00:44:05,078 --> 00:44:08,043
- We got this. We're straight.
- We're good with this, man."
- 1049
- 00:44:08,043 --> 00:44:09,963
- I'm like, "Okay."
- 1050
- 00:44:09,963 --> 00:44:12,259
- ♪ ♪
- 1051
- 00:44:12,259 --> 00:44:13,930
- JAKE: As it turns out,
- 1052
- 00:44:13,930 --> 00:44:16,184
- Billy doesn't actually have
- a site for the festival.
- 1053
- 00:44:16,184 --> 00:44:18,898
- So Billy goes island shopping.
- 1054
- 00:44:18,898 --> 00:44:22,154
- [dreamy ukulele music]
- 1055
- 00:44:22,154 --> 00:44:24,158
- CALVIN: You know, Johnny Depp
- has an island.
- 1056
- 00:44:24,158 --> 00:44:27,999
- Richard Branson has an island.
- 1057
- 00:44:27,999 --> 00:44:33,093
- An island is a very
- aspirational thing to own.
- 1058
- 00:44:33,093 --> 00:44:34,680
- But in the Bahamas,
- 1059
- 00:44:34,680 --> 00:44:37,602
- buying an island is sort
- of an involved process.
- 1060
- 00:44:37,602 --> 00:44:39,523
- Under a truncated time frame,
- 1061
- 00:44:39,523 --> 00:44:41,150
- if you had all the money
- in the world,
- 1062
- 00:44:41,150 --> 00:44:43,447
- it takes several months,
- if not years.
- 1063
- 00:44:43,447 --> 00:44:45,702
- AVA: If any investors had
- really done
- 1064
- 00:44:45,702 --> 00:44:47,706
- any real sort of research,
- they would've realized
- 1065
- 00:44:47,706 --> 00:44:50,210
- that there's not really
- much infrastructure here,
- 1066
- 00:44:50,210 --> 00:44:52,465
- so they would have to create
- all of the infrastructure.
- 1067
- 00:44:52,465 --> 00:44:57,141
- We're looking at a year of
- planning and construction.
- 1068
- 00:44:57,141 --> 00:44:59,061
- CALVIN: You don't buy
- an island in February
- 1069
- 00:44:59,061 --> 00:45:01,942
- to then host a party in April.
- 1070
- 00:45:01,942 --> 00:45:03,946
- That is an impossible thing
- to do.
- 1071
- 00:45:03,946 --> 00:45:05,950
- ♪ ♪
- 1072
- 00:45:05,950 --> 00:45:07,369
- JAKE: According
- to our accounts,
- 1073
- 00:45:07,369 --> 00:45:09,791
- Billy hops on his jet
- with a cook
- 1074
- 00:45:09,791 --> 00:45:13,381
- who claims the perfect island
- is actually Great Exuma.
- 1075
- 00:45:13,381 --> 00:45:16,095
- [swanky music]
- 1076
- 00:45:16,095 --> 00:45:19,644
- AVA: Exuma is one of the
- more bustling islands.
- 1077
- 00:45:19,644 --> 00:45:21,690
- For Bahamians,
- our hospitalityâ€Ââ€Â
- 1078
- 00:45:21,690 --> 00:45:25,698
- our ability to be great hostsâ€Ââ€Â
- is a part of our pride.
- 1079
- 00:45:25,698 --> 00:45:27,284
- CALVIN: It actually
- has an airport;
- 1080
- 00:45:27,284 --> 00:45:29,539
- there's an established hotel;
- 1081
- 00:45:29,539 --> 00:45:32,044
- there is some infrastructure;
- but the problem is,
- 1082
- 00:45:32,044 --> 00:45:34,381
- this site is a complete
- gravel pit.
- 1083
- 00:45:34,381 --> 00:45:36,970
- ♪ ♪
- 1084
- 00:45:36,970 --> 00:45:39,810
- AVA: It's nothing like that
- trailer that they shot.
- 1085
- 00:45:39,810 --> 00:45:44,318
- It's just very barren
- and just very concrete rubble.
- 1086
- 00:45:44,318 --> 00:45:47,867
- CALVIN: When they posted
- the photo of the island,
- 1087
- 00:45:47,867 --> 00:45:50,623
- it's like,
- "Here's Fyre Island!"
- 1088
- 00:45:50,623 --> 00:45:52,961
- And I found that
- this is a parking lot
- 1089
- 00:45:52,961 --> 00:45:54,798
- on an undeveloped portion
- 1090
- 00:45:54,798 --> 00:45:58,096
- outside of Sandals
- Emerald Bay resort.
- 1091
- 00:45:58,096 --> 00:46:00,142
- If you Google
- "Sandals Emerald Bay,"
- 1092
- 00:46:00,142 --> 00:46:03,022
- you will also find
- "Fyre Island."
- 1093
- 00:46:03,022 --> 00:46:05,486
- ♪ ♪
- 1094
- 00:46:05,486 --> 00:46:09,452
- I mean thatâ€Ââ€Âthatâ€Ââ€Âgenius.
- 1095
- 00:46:09,452 --> 00:46:11,330
- I'm seeing these things,
- and it's like,
- 1096
- 00:46:11,330 --> 00:46:13,001
- "This is getting ridiculous."
- Like, "These guys are lying.
- 1097
- 00:46:13,001 --> 00:46:15,088
- This isâ€Ââ€Âno way
- this is going on."
- 1098
- 00:46:15,088 --> 00:46:17,342
- †Anyone who'd ever been
- involved with event production
- 1099
- 00:46:17,342 --> 00:46:19,138
- would have understood that
- this wasn't possible.
- 1100
- 00:46:19,138 --> 00:46:20,433
- Like, a wedding planner would
- have known, like,
- 1101
- 00:46:20,433 --> 00:46:22,896
- "Absolutely no way."
- 1102
- 00:46:22,896 --> 00:46:25,108
- DANIEL: My first job
- for Fyre Festival
- 1103
- 00:46:25,108 --> 00:46:27,614
- was just an assessment
- for them.
- 1104
- 00:46:27,614 --> 00:46:31,287
- The scale of this project
- was enormous,
- 1105
- 00:46:31,287 --> 00:46:34,293
- but typically, you'd have
- this kind of planning effort
- 1106
- 00:46:34,293 --> 00:46:39,178
- around a festival of this scale
- 18 months in advance,
- 1107
- 00:46:39,178 --> 00:46:42,267
- not four months in advance.
- 1108
- 00:46:42,267 --> 00:46:44,021
- FELIX: When I was brought
- onboard,
- 1109
- 00:46:44,021 --> 00:46:46,902
- we were a month and a half out.
- 1110
- 00:46:46,902 --> 00:46:48,363
- I don't know how they thought
- 1111
- 00:46:48,363 --> 00:46:49,991
- that we were gonna
- be able to do this.
- 1112
- 00:46:49,991 --> 00:46:51,244
- Iâ€Ââ€ÂI just don't know.
- 1113
- 00:46:51,244 --> 00:46:52,747
- And if it was gonna happen,
- 1114
- 00:46:52,747 --> 00:46:55,043
- we were gonna have
- to work 24â€Âhour days.
- 1115
- 00:46:55,043 --> 00:46:57,172
- HENRY: We tried to
- pick up our pace.
- 1116
- 00:46:57,172 --> 00:46:58,801
- We started to work
- day and night.
- 1117
- 00:46:58,801 --> 00:47:00,930
- Some days, I came off the site
- 1118
- 00:47:00,930 --> 00:47:03,686
- at 3:00 at night
- and I went back at 7:00.
- 1119
- 00:47:03,686 --> 00:47:05,606
- NICK: I was brought on
- to be a general store manager
- 1120
- 00:47:05,606 --> 00:47:07,276
- and a sourcing coordinator.
- 1121
- 00:47:07,276 --> 00:47:09,656
- We were all working
- 18â€Âhour days, 19â€Âhour days.
- 1122
- 00:47:09,656 --> 00:47:13,121
- I was sleeping an average
- of three hours a night.
- 1123
- 00:47:13,121 --> 00:47:16,545
- JAKE: Another huge problem is
- that the two weekends
- 1124
- 00:47:16,545 --> 00:47:18,549
- that Billy has chosen
- for the festival
- 1125
- 00:47:18,549 --> 00:47:22,264
- happen to coincide with the
- Exuma Family Regatta...
- 1126
- 00:47:22,264 --> 00:47:24,226
- [dramatic music]
- 1127
- 00:47:24,226 --> 00:47:25,813
- Which is a sailing regatta.
- 1128
- 00:47:25,813 --> 00:47:28,234
- It's the biggest event
- that happens annually.
- 1129
- 00:47:28,234 --> 00:47:31,616
- DONALD: We have the national
- regatta going on.
- 1130
- 00:47:31,616 --> 00:47:33,369
- That's bigger
- than Christmas here.
- 1131
- 00:47:33,369 --> 00:47:38,505
- ♪ ♪
- 1132
- 00:47:38,505 --> 00:47:40,133
- †The organizer was told,
- 1133
- 00:47:40,133 --> 00:47:43,222
- "This is not the right time
- to do this."
- 1134
- 00:47:43,222 --> 00:47:45,101
- JAKE: The problem is,
- with this regatta,
- 1135
- 00:47:45,101 --> 00:47:46,521
- there's not gonna be any cars.
- 1136
- 00:47:46,521 --> 00:47:47,732
- There's not gonna
- be any hotels.
- 1137
- 00:47:47,732 --> 00:47:49,276
- It'll be difficult to host
- 1138
- 00:47:49,276 --> 00:47:50,988
- thousands of people
- for the festival.
- 1139
- 00:47:50,988 --> 00:47:52,700
- [tense music]
- 1140
- 00:47:52,700 --> 00:47:54,370
- He's warned
- that he should cancel itâ€Ââ€Â
- 1141
- 00:47:54,370 --> 00:47:57,250
- that it just can't
- come together.
- 1142
- 00:47:57,250 --> 00:48:01,342
- DELROY: And Ja Rule came down,
- and he saw it for himself.
- 1143
- 00:48:01,342 --> 00:48:03,931
- He pulled me aside.
- He's like, "Yo, Delroy.
- 1144
- 00:48:03,931 --> 00:48:05,976
- "Just be straight up, dawg.
- 1145
- 00:48:05,976 --> 00:48:08,774
- Is this festival gonna happen?
- What'd you think?"
- 1146
- 00:48:08,774 --> 00:48:10,528
- All I did was just
- scratch my head.
- 1147
- 00:48:10,528 --> 00:48:14,243
- I was just like, "Ja, it's
- really not gonna happen."
- 1148
- 00:48:14,243 --> 00:48:17,792
- †Here's to living life...
- [laughter]
- 1149
- 00:48:17,792 --> 00:48:20,380
- Like motherfucking movie stars.
- 1150
- 00:48:20,380 --> 00:48:24,931
- MAN: So Ja Rule didn't know
- anything that was going on?
- 1151
- 00:48:24,931 --> 00:48:26,643
- †I was in charge
- of the festival,
- 1152
- 00:48:26,643 --> 00:48:30,651
- and I made the decision
- to keep it goingâ€Ââ€Âtoâ€Ââ€Âtoâ€Ââ€Â
- 1153
- 00:48:30,651 --> 00:48:33,030
- toâ€Ââ€ÂI was in charge,
- and so it's on me.
- 1154
- 00:48:33,030 --> 00:48:34,784
- But...yeah.
- 1155
- 00:48:34,784 --> 00:48:37,874
- MAN: But he was there with you
- on the island frequently.
- 1156
- 00:48:37,874 --> 00:48:39,544
- †Uh, heâ€Ââ€Âyup, he was
- on the island.
- 1157
- 00:48:39,544 --> 00:48:41,255
- MAN: Did he tell you,
- "Billy, we can't do this.
- 1158
- 00:48:41,255 --> 00:48:44,136
- We need to cancel"?
- 1159
- 00:48:44,136 --> 00:48:45,514
- †I'm not gonna talk about
- 1160
- 00:48:45,514 --> 00:48:47,100
- our different
- private conversations,
- 1161
- 00:48:47,100 --> 00:48:48,812
- but, you know,
- we've had many conversations,
- 1162
- 00:48:48,812 --> 00:48:50,273
- as well as I did with
- the rest of the team,
- 1163
- 00:48:50,273 --> 00:48:54,072
- and those were
- the decisions we made.
- 1164
- 00:48:54,072 --> 00:48:56,786
- CALVIN: And so they didn't
- cancel the festival,
- 1165
- 00:48:56,786 --> 00:49:00,628
- but what happened is
- the story kept getting bigger.
- 1166
- 00:49:00,628 --> 00:49:03,759
- And then people I knew,
- you know,
- 1167
- 00:49:03,759 --> 00:49:07,224
- you know, started buying
- GA passes.
- 1168
- 00:49:07,224 --> 00:49:09,061
- But what I think Billy
- figured out very quickly
- 1169
- 00:49:09,061 --> 00:49:11,650
- was that he was not gonna be
- able to throw this festival
- 1170
- 00:49:11,650 --> 00:49:13,570
- with the number of people
- that were buying GA passes
- 1171
- 00:49:13,570 --> 00:49:15,198
- for the cost that he thought
- it was gonna be.
- 1172
- 00:49:16,535 --> 00:49:19,373
- And so ultimately, they just
- said, "Well, it's sold out,
- 1173
- 00:49:19,373 --> 00:49:21,085
- "so the only thing
- that you can buy now
- 1174
- 00:49:21,085 --> 00:49:23,381
- are the premium passes."
- 1175
- 00:49:23,381 --> 00:49:28,015
- †So Grant designed these,
- like, villas.
- 1176
- 00:49:28,015 --> 00:49:32,357
- ♪ ♪
- 1177
- 00:49:32,357 --> 00:49:34,445
- I think he just used AutoCAD.
- 1178
- 00:49:34,445 --> 00:49:37,451
- [pinging and beeping]
- 1179
- 00:49:39,246 --> 00:49:41,876
- CALVIN: And the whole thing
- sort of became an ad hoc
- 1180
- 00:49:41,876 --> 00:49:43,922
- "We're gonna sell one
- of one for this.
- 1181
- 00:49:43,922 --> 00:49:46,343
- We have two villas
- available for this."
- 1182
- 00:49:46,343 --> 00:49:48,890
- You know, "The Dolphin Villa
- is available
- 1183
- 00:49:48,890 --> 00:49:50,686
- for $25,000."
- 1184
- 00:49:50,686 --> 00:49:56,823
- DAVE: I remember there
- was a $250,000 package.
- 1185
- 00:49:56,823 --> 00:49:58,619
- †But those villas
- did not existâ€Ââ€Â
- 1186
- 00:49:58,619 --> 00:50:00,163
- the ones that
- had been marketed
- 1187
- 00:50:00,163 --> 00:50:02,501
- just straight up weren'tâ€Ââ€Â
- not even there.
- 1188
- 00:50:02,501 --> 00:50:04,756
- JIA: Billy might have very well
- believed, you know, like,
- 1189
- 00:50:04,756 --> 00:50:07,052
- "There's gotta be some company
- that'll set up a villa
- 1190
- 00:50:07,052 --> 00:50:09,348
- for me for super cheap."
- I mean, it's like,
- 1191
- 00:50:09,348 --> 00:50:11,978
- "Why can't we Amazon Prime this
- or something?"
- 1192
- 00:50:11,978 --> 00:50:15,151
- [awkward music]
- 1193
- 00:50:15,151 --> 00:50:17,364
- JAKE: These guys were just
- selling villas
- 1194
- 00:50:17,364 --> 00:50:19,535
- because they needed another
- $25,000
- 1195
- 00:50:19,535 --> 00:50:22,415
- to pay the production
- and stage guys.
- 1196
- 00:50:22,415 --> 00:50:26,173
- JAKE: In fact, very quickly
- after the festival,
- 1197
- 00:50:26,173 --> 00:50:29,722
- I acquired a trove
- of thousands of emails
- 1198
- 00:50:29,722 --> 00:50:33,020
- detailing the inner workings
- of the Fyre Festival.
- 1199
- 00:50:33,020 --> 00:50:35,442
- What they show is that
- right around this time,
- 1200
- 00:50:35,442 --> 00:50:38,615
- Billy is so short of cash
- and he's trying desperately
- 1201
- 00:50:38,615 --> 00:50:40,619
- to figure out how
- to pay everybody off
- 1202
- 00:50:40,619 --> 00:50:44,126
- that he begins engaging in
- criminal acts and wire fraud.
- 1203
- 00:50:44,126 --> 00:50:45,629
- He's securing services
- 1204
- 00:50:45,629 --> 00:50:48,134
- by promising vendors
- wire transfers.
- 1205
- 00:50:48,134 --> 00:50:51,641
- He's sending screenshots
- of a confirmation page
- 1206
- 00:50:51,641 --> 00:50:53,562
- but the tracking number
- is cut off
- 1207
- 00:50:53,562 --> 00:50:56,108
- and he's not really
- wiring the money.
- 1208
- 00:50:56,108 --> 00:50:58,320
- ♪ ♪
- 1209
- 00:50:58,320 --> 00:51:00,283
- †It just seemed like
- every day,
- 1210
- 00:51:00,283 --> 00:51:03,832
- we'd wake up with an issue,
- solve it by the next morning,
- 1211
- 00:51:03,832 --> 00:51:05,461
- and then a new one
- would pop up,
- 1212
- 00:51:05,461 --> 00:51:08,340
- and it was just playing
- this Whacâ€Âaâ€ÂMole game
- 1213
- 00:51:08,340 --> 00:51:10,011
- where we kept solving
- the problems,
- 1214
- 00:51:10,011 --> 00:51:11,848
- kept solving the problems,
- kept solving the problems
- 1215
- 00:51:11,848 --> 00:51:14,771
- and I guess gained a little bit
- of confidence from that,
- 1216
- 00:51:14,771 --> 00:51:16,524
- thinking everything
- in the world was solvable.
- 1217
- 00:51:16,524 --> 00:51:21,158
- ♪ ♪
- 1218
- 00:51:21,158 --> 00:51:22,953
- CALVIN: And then
- I started hitting up
- 1219
- 00:51:22,953 --> 00:51:25,249
- my friends in the music
- industry who were announced
- 1220
- 00:51:25,249 --> 00:51:29,550
- as headliners at the festival,
- saying, "Are you being paid?"
- 1221
- 00:51:29,550 --> 00:51:31,345
- DAVE: They had Blinkâ€Â182.
- 1222
- 00:51:31,345 --> 00:51:33,265
- Major Lazer was playing.
- 1223
- 00:51:33,265 --> 00:51:35,353
- Diplo.
- Lil Yachty.
- 1224
- 00:51:35,353 --> 00:51:37,398
- And you had G. O. O. D. Music.
- 1225
- 00:51:37,398 --> 00:51:39,529
- All these really big artists
- 1226
- 00:51:39,529 --> 00:51:43,285
- are gonna demand
- payment upfront.
- 1227
- 00:51:43,285 --> 00:51:45,122
- †And the information I'm
- getting from them is,
- 1228
- 00:51:45,122 --> 00:51:47,920
- "No, they're not paying on
- the terms that we disclosed."
- 1229
- 00:51:47,920 --> 00:51:50,592
- †I spoke to a number of agents
- who said
- 1230
- 00:51:50,592 --> 00:51:54,057
- Fyre Festival went into breach
- almost from day one,
- 1231
- 00:51:54,057 --> 00:51:56,896
- were not making payments,
- following wire instructions,
- 1232
- 00:51:56,896 --> 00:51:59,401
- it was late,
- there were excuses.
- 1233
- 00:51:59,401 --> 00:52:03,325
- CALVIN: So I'm watching this
- thing unfold from afar,
- 1234
- 00:52:03,325 --> 00:52:05,747
- but what I didn't know was that
- 1235
- 00:52:05,747 --> 00:52:09,422
- the festival was basically
- just a big promotion
- 1236
- 00:52:09,422 --> 00:52:15,308
- for Billy and Ja's bigger idea,
- which was the Fyre app.
- 1237
- 00:52:15,308 --> 00:52:18,022
- CALVIN: The Fyre app is a
- booking app
- 1238
- 00:52:18,022 --> 00:52:21,696
- so you can rent out celebrities
- to appear at your events,
- 1239
- 00:52:21,696 --> 00:52:23,617
- and I think this was sort of
- 1240
- 00:52:23,617 --> 00:52:25,954
- the Tinder for booking talent.
- 1241
- 00:52:25,954 --> 00:52:28,835
- You'd swipe right and make
- an offer on Coldplay,
- 1242
- 00:52:28,835 --> 00:52:31,048
- and Coldplay would either
- accept and swipe right
- 1243
- 00:52:31,048 --> 00:52:33,385
- or swipe left on you,
- and then
- 1244
- 00:52:33,385 --> 00:52:36,058
- you guys would be linked
- and then, you know,
- 1245
- 00:52:36,058 --> 00:52:38,939
- you'd have them playing
- at Timmy's bar mitzvah.
- 1246
- 00:52:40,859 --> 00:52:43,531
- A very dear friend sent me
- a term sheet
- 1247
- 00:52:43,531 --> 00:52:46,119
- from Comcast Ventures
- to Fyre Media.
- 1248
- 00:52:47,623 --> 00:52:50,921
- It was for a significant
- amount of moneyâ€Ââ€Â
- 1249
- 00:52:50,921 --> 00:52:53,342
- a really meaningful valuation.
- 1250
- 00:52:53,342 --> 00:52:56,891
- But he was just indicating that
- 1251
- 00:52:56,891 --> 00:53:00,440
- the app was far more profitable
- than it actually was.
- 1252
- 00:53:00,440 --> 00:53:02,235
- And that's really
- when it turned from something
- 1253
- 00:53:02,235 --> 00:53:04,699
- of rich millennials
- getting picked off
- 1254
- 00:53:04,699 --> 00:53:10,042
- to something that became, like,
- a significant financial crime.
- 1255
- 00:53:10,042 --> 00:53:12,548
- And so at this point,
- 1256
- 00:53:12,548 --> 00:53:15,804
- I have a thesis that
- this is a fraud.
- 1257
- 00:53:15,804 --> 00:53:19,060
- So I called Comcast Ventures,
- and I said, "Look,
- 1258
- 00:53:19,060 --> 00:53:21,273
- "you gotta trust me.
- It's not legitimate.
- 1259
- 00:53:21,273 --> 00:53:23,193
- "Just do me this favor.
- 1260
- 00:53:23,193 --> 00:53:26,617
- "Promise me that you won't
- write a check to this company
- 1261
- 00:53:26,617 --> 00:53:29,414
- until after
- the festival occurs."
- 1262
- 00:53:29,414 --> 00:53:34,257
- And to their credit, you know,
- they ultimately didn't invest.
- 1263
- 00:53:34,257 --> 00:53:36,804
- But still, more tickets are
- getting sold.
- 1264
- 00:53:36,804 --> 00:53:39,267
- And the more money people were
- spending on this thing,
- 1265
- 00:53:39,267 --> 00:53:41,564
- you know, the more I felt like,
- 1266
- 00:53:41,564 --> 00:53:43,985
- "Hey, someone has got
- to stand up and say,
- 1267
- 00:53:43,985 --> 00:53:46,783
- 'This isn't real.'"
- And so I created
- 1268
- 00:53:46,783 --> 00:53:52,461
- the anonymous Twitter account
- FyreFraud,
- 1269
- 00:53:52,461 --> 00:53:55,592
- and I just started posting
- what I knew to be factual.
- 1270
- 00:53:55,592 --> 00:54:00,101
- ♪ ♪
- 1271
- 00:54:00,101 --> 00:54:02,481
- OREN: We would sit in meetings
- with the Fyre team,
- 1272
- 00:54:02,481 --> 00:54:05,487
- and we advised them to stay
- away from Twitter
- 1273
- 00:54:05,487 --> 00:54:06,697
- because there was,
- like, an account
- 1274
- 00:54:06,697 --> 00:54:08,283
- that basically called them out.
- 1275
- 00:54:08,283 --> 00:54:10,789
- The guy would start talking
- to other people
- 1276
- 00:54:10,789 --> 00:54:13,461
- and connecting dots together
- in the comments.
- 1277
- 00:54:19,640 --> 00:54:22,145
- And I think everyone in the
- room kind of had, like,
- 1278
- 00:54:22,145 --> 00:54:24,775
- a little thing on their mind,
- like, "Yeah, you're right."
- 1279
- 00:54:24,775 --> 00:54:26,863
- Like, "How is this gonna work?"
- 1280
- 00:54:26,863 --> 00:54:29,367
- How are 20,000 people getting
- to this island
- 1281
- 00:54:29,367 --> 00:54:31,539
- when you're pitching it as
- 1282
- 00:54:31,539 --> 00:54:34,085
- Cessna planes are what's
- bringing you there?
- 1283
- 00:54:34,085 --> 00:54:37,258
- People are like, "Eh,
- someone will figure it out."
- 1284
- 00:54:37,258 --> 00:54:39,012
- Like, "It's fine."
- 1285
- 00:54:39,012 --> 00:54:40,557
- This cliff is really high.
- 1286
- 00:54:40,557 --> 00:54:41,893
- If people are drunk,
- 1287
- 00:54:41,893 --> 00:54:43,605
- they could just fall
- into this water.
- 1288
- 00:54:43,605 --> 00:54:46,234
- They didn't even think, like,
- "Maybe we need a fence."
- 1289
- 00:54:46,234 --> 00:54:48,030
- I would say,
- "Where's the beach?"
- 1290
- 00:54:48,030 --> 00:54:50,744
- And they'd be like, "Oh, the
- beach is five miles away."
- 1291
- 00:54:50,744 --> 00:54:55,837
- We'd be like, "Oh...uh...
- 1292
- 00:54:55,837 --> 00:54:59,511
- "this could actually be, like,
- a failure, I think.
- 1293
- 00:54:59,511 --> 00:55:01,056
- Could it?"
- And everyone would be like,
- 1294
- 00:55:01,056 --> 00:55:02,559
- "Could it? Could it?"
- 1295
- 00:55:02,559 --> 00:55:05,440
- VICKIE: If you're
- a business partner in this
- 1296
- 00:55:05,440 --> 00:55:07,861
- and you have the information
- 1297
- 00:55:07,861 --> 00:55:09,865
- that this is gonna be
- a shitstorm,
- 1298
- 00:55:09,865 --> 00:55:11,409
- you should tell somebody.
- 1299
- 00:55:11,409 --> 00:55:16,252
- OREN: So there were a few
- vendors who dropped out.
- 1300
- 00:55:16,252 --> 00:55:18,048
- For everybody,
- this is a red flag.
- 1301
- 00:55:18,048 --> 00:55:20,302
- This is one of those things
- that you kind of question,
- 1302
- 00:55:20,302 --> 00:55:23,559
- "If they're doing something,
- why aren't we?"
- 1303
- 00:55:23,559 --> 00:55:27,024
- But it would always come back
- to, like, "Nah," and...
- 1304
- 00:55:28,695 --> 00:55:31,617
- VICKIE: If it were my agency
- and I didn't think
- 1305
- 00:55:31,617 --> 00:55:33,454
- that this was something
- I could put my name behind,
- 1306
- 00:55:33,454 --> 00:55:35,709
- I would've dropped out.
- 1307
- 00:55:35,709 --> 00:55:37,921
- OREN: There's so much
- momentum,
- 1308
- 00:55:37,921 --> 00:55:39,717
- so much money, so much force
- behind everything
- 1309
- 00:55:39,717 --> 00:55:44,017
- that it's like,
- "This train's not stopping."
- 1310
- 00:55:46,146 --> 00:55:47,607
- CALVIN: You can say
- in hindsight
- 1311
- 00:55:47,607 --> 00:55:49,152
- that this is very
- easily a fraud,
- 1312
- 00:55:49,152 --> 00:55:51,364
- but there's a point
- at which I questioned,
- 1313
- 00:55:51,364 --> 00:55:53,995
- like, "Am I wrong? Am I crazy?"
- 1314
- 00:55:53,995 --> 00:55:56,041
- I needed some of the validation
- 1315
- 00:55:56,041 --> 00:55:59,172
- that an actual journalist
- could provide,
- 1316
- 00:55:59,172 --> 00:56:02,219
- so I called
- "The Wall Street Journal,"
- 1317
- 00:56:02,219 --> 00:56:04,767
- and I say,
- "Here's everything I know.
- 1318
- 00:56:04,767 --> 00:56:06,771
- You need to put
- a stop to this thing,"
- 1319
- 00:56:06,771 --> 00:56:11,572
- because these guys were not
- running an honest operation.
- 1320
- 00:56:11,572 --> 00:56:14,410
- And they printed it in
- "The Wall Street Journal."
- 1321
- 00:56:14,410 --> 00:56:17,459
- Okay, I've done my civic duty.
- We have killed this thing.
- 1322
- 00:56:17,459 --> 00:56:20,799
- That's good enough for me.
- And I was wrong.
- 1323
- 00:56:20,799 --> 00:56:22,636
- They were unfazed.
- 1324
- 00:56:22,636 --> 00:56:24,473
- In fact, they were
- only emboldened.
- 1325
- 00:56:24,473 --> 00:56:26,852
- They hit back with
- a counterpunch
- 1326
- 00:56:26,852 --> 00:56:30,317
- of what can only be described
- as a social media blitz.
- 1327
- 00:56:30,317 --> 00:56:32,531
- Somebody would post
- a question on the thing.
- 1328
- 00:56:32,531 --> 00:56:34,660
- The question would
- immediately get deleted.
- 1329
- 00:56:34,660 --> 00:56:37,916
- †Anytime there would be
- anything that was "distasteful"
- 1330
- 00:56:37,916 --> 00:56:40,337
- or calling Fyre out
- on anything.
- 1331
- 00:56:40,337 --> 00:56:41,757
- It was always a matter of,
- 1332
- 00:56:41,757 --> 00:56:44,262
- "Go to that source
- and eliminate it."
- 1333
- 00:56:44,262 --> 00:56:46,559
- †If you're asked,
- as a media company,
- 1334
- 00:56:46,559 --> 00:56:49,731
- to start deleting things,
- youâ€Ââ€Âthat's a red flag.
- 1335
- 00:56:49,731 --> 00:56:51,694
- OREN: Instantly flagged words
- about "lineup,
- 1336
- 00:56:51,694 --> 00:56:55,994
- "lineups, performers,
- details, info,
- 1337
- 00:56:55,994 --> 00:56:59,459
- flights, fraud, stupid, scam"â€Ââ€Â
- 1338
- 00:56:59,459 --> 00:57:01,922
- "festival," even.
- "Festival" was blocked.
- 1339
- 00:57:01,922 --> 00:57:03,551
- It got that bad.
- †They would say, "Hey,
- 1340
- 00:57:03,551 --> 00:57:05,345
- "like, I haven't gotten
- my flights confirmed.
- 1341
- 00:57:05,345 --> 00:57:07,057
- What's going on?"
- And it would be,
- 1342
- 00:57:07,057 --> 00:57:09,438
- that person would then
- get blocked from the account.
- 1343
- 00:57:09,438 --> 00:57:12,485
- OREN: And then I had to make
- this list again in all caps
- 1344
- 00:57:12,485 --> 00:57:15,575
- because Grant didn't believe
- that it wasn't caseâ€Âsensitive.
- 1345
- 00:57:15,575 --> 00:57:17,871
- ♪ ♪
- 1346
- 00:57:17,871 --> 00:57:20,793
- CALVIN: They were so good
- at silencing the dissenters
- 1347
- 00:57:20,793 --> 00:57:23,507
- that I'm screaming this
- from a rooftop,
- 1348
- 00:57:23,507 --> 00:57:25,428
- and there's no one listening.
- 1349
- 00:57:25,428 --> 00:57:31,523
- ♪ ♪
- 1350
- 00:57:31,523 --> 00:57:34,571
- DELROY: Billy was running
- out of money,
- 1351
- 00:57:34,571 --> 00:57:37,368
- 'cause I heard him on the phone
- talking to one of the investors
- 1352
- 00:57:37,368 --> 00:57:39,915
- and, like, this dude
- was begging.
- 1353
- 00:57:39,915 --> 00:57:44,883
- "Um, I need, like, um, a mill?"
- 1354
- 00:57:44,883 --> 00:57:47,346
- POLLY: Someone was investing
- in the Fyre app
- 1355
- 00:57:47,346 --> 00:57:49,851
- and the Fyre Festival.
- 1356
- 00:57:49,851 --> 00:57:53,943
- Billy created a spreadsheet
- and wrote in "musical act,
- 1357
- 00:57:53,943 --> 00:57:57,784
- thousands paid.
- Musical act, thousands paid."
- 1358
- 00:57:57,784 --> 00:57:59,538
- MAN: So Lil Wayne was
- on the platform?
- 1359
- 00:57:59,538 --> 00:58:01,416
- †Every artist in yourâ€Ââ€Â
- in theâ€Ââ€Â
- 1360
- 00:58:01,416 --> 00:58:03,754
- in materials that we created
- as a team was on the platform.
- 1361
- 00:58:03,754 --> 00:58:05,591
- MAN: Jamie Foxx was
- on the platform?
- 1362
- 00:58:05,591 --> 00:58:07,470
- †Uh, as againâ€Ââ€Âonce again,
- every artist that we created
- 1363
- 00:58:07,470 --> 00:58:09,599
- in the materials
- was on the platform.
- 1364
- 00:58:09,599 --> 00:58:11,227
- POLLY: But the reality is
- 1365
- 00:58:11,227 --> 00:58:12,981
- that there were never thousands
- of acts booked
- 1366
- 00:58:12,981 --> 00:58:15,360
- and there were never millions
- of dollars paid.
- 1367
- 00:58:15,360 --> 00:58:20,037
- It was about $57,000 total.
- 1368
- 00:58:20,037 --> 00:58:23,753
- Even worse, he alleged that
- he owned Facebook shares
- 1369
- 00:58:23,753 --> 00:58:26,884
- to the tune of over $2 million.
- 1370
- 00:58:26,884 --> 00:58:31,225
- In reality, he had over
- 1,000 bucks in there.
- 1371
- 00:58:31,225 --> 00:58:34,441
- And after Billy submitted these
- doctored loan documents,
- 1372
- 00:58:34,441 --> 00:58:37,906
- this investor put $800,000
- 1373
- 00:58:37,906 --> 00:58:39,367
- on the line for Billy.
- 1374
- 00:58:39,367 --> 00:58:41,329
- †[laughing]
- 1375
- 00:58:41,329 --> 00:58:43,501
- †He hung up.
- He said, "Delroy,
- 1376
- 00:58:43,501 --> 00:58:45,838
- "put it here, man.
- 1377
- 00:58:45,838 --> 00:58:48,511
- Let's go Jetâ€ÂSkiing."
- 1378
- 00:58:48,511 --> 00:58:51,349
- [racing bass line]
- 1379
- 00:58:51,349 --> 00:58:53,019
- ["Misirlou"
- by Dick Dale & the Del Tones]
- 1380
- 00:58:53,019 --> 00:58:56,150
- †♪ Ha, ha, ha ♪
- 1381
- 00:58:56,150 --> 00:58:58,614
- JAKE: Despite all
- of the warning signs,
- 1382
- 00:58:58,614 --> 00:59:02,079
- as even the most basic things
- just can't come together,
- 1383
- 00:59:02,079 --> 00:59:04,375
- Billy becomes obsessed
- with an idea
- 1384
- 00:59:04,375 --> 00:59:07,757
- of bringing a pirate ship
- to the Bahamas.
- 1385
- 00:59:07,757 --> 00:59:09,553
- †[scoffs] Like, what are you
- gonnaâ€Ââ€Â
- 1386
- 00:59:09,553 --> 00:59:11,055
- what do you need
- a pirate ship for?
- 1387
- 00:59:11,055 --> 00:59:13,184
- You're alsâ€Ââ€Âyou'reâ€Ââ€Â
- you're drowning in debt.
- 1388
- 00:59:13,184 --> 00:59:14,855
- You're literally drowning
- in debt.
- 1389
- 00:59:14,855 --> 00:59:16,107
- You can't even see.
- 1390
- 00:59:16,107 --> 00:59:17,861
- BEN: He could sit
- in the cannonball
- 1391
- 00:59:17,861 --> 00:59:20,992
- and you could shoot him
- and he would do three 360s,
- 1392
- 00:59:20,992 --> 00:59:22,495
- throw out a bunch of money,
- 1393
- 00:59:22,495 --> 00:59:24,039
- pour the drinks
- in everybody's mouth,
- 1394
- 00:59:24,039 --> 00:59:25,835
- and say, "Billy's here!"
- 1395
- 00:59:25,835 --> 00:59:29,383
- JAKE: The team is really,
- really against this idea,
- 1396
- 00:59:29,383 --> 00:59:31,387
- but Billy is so obsessed
- with it
- 1397
- 00:59:31,387 --> 00:59:32,599
- that they go through
- the process
- 1398
- 00:59:32,599 --> 00:59:34,561
- of trying to find it anyway.
- 1399
- 00:59:34,561 --> 00:59:37,191
- There was an urgent email
- about the bathroomsâ€Ââ€Â
- 1400
- 00:59:37,191 --> 00:59:40,071
- that instead of having
- these luxurious bathrooms,
- 1401
- 00:59:40,071 --> 00:59:43,662
- they're gonna have to
- try to ship in porta potties.
- 1402
- 00:59:43,662 --> 00:59:45,750
- And there's this great email
- that I love.
- 1403
- 00:59:45,750 --> 00:59:47,754
- The quote is,
- "Well, nobody's eating,
- 1404
- 00:59:47,754 --> 00:59:49,758
- so nobody's pooping."
- 1405
- 00:59:49,758 --> 00:59:54,559
- DELROY: And then they order
- 2â€Âmillion dollars' worth
- 1406
- 00:59:54,559 --> 00:59:57,356
- of booze.
- 1407
- 00:59:57,356 --> 00:59:59,318
- Who the fuck orders
- 2â€Âmillion dollars' worth
- 1408
- 00:59:59,318 --> 01:00:01,615
- of booze, dawg?
- 1409
- 01:00:01,615 --> 01:00:03,994
- You know the duty on liquor
- in the Bahamas?
- 1410
- 01:00:03,994 --> 01:00:06,542
- 45% of $2 million.
- 1411
- 01:00:06,542 --> 01:00:09,673
- I was like...
- 1412
- 01:00:16,687 --> 01:00:18,356
- †Okay, and just a couple
- of remaining items.
- 1413
- 01:00:18,356 --> 01:00:20,402
- †So then Billy took out
- this loan
- 1414
- 01:00:20,402 --> 01:00:22,322
- from someone named
- Ezra Birnbaum.
- 1415
- 01:00:22,322 --> 01:00:25,245
- †Please indicate here if
- I look like a schmuck to you.
- 1416
- 01:00:25,245 --> 01:00:26,915
- †I'm gonna say no.
- 1417
- 01:00:26,915 --> 01:00:30,171
- POLLY: Ezra Birnbaum
- gives a loan for $3 million.
- 1418
- 01:00:30,171 --> 01:00:34,514
- The loan had a maximum
- interest rate of 120%.
- 1419
- 01:00:34,514 --> 01:00:38,146
- The interest on the loan
- amounted to $600,000
- 1420
- 01:00:38,146 --> 01:00:40,025
- in three months.
- 1421
- 01:00:40,025 --> 01:00:44,784
- He needed to make a payment of
- $1/2 million within 16 days.
- 1422
- 01:00:44,784 --> 01:00:47,205
- †Iâ€Ââ€ÂI was a big boy.
- I knew what I was getting into.
- 1423
- 01:00:47,205 --> 01:00:49,961
- And, you know,
- if I signed something
- 1424
- 01:00:49,961 --> 01:00:53,092
- that doesn't makeâ€Ââ€Âit doesn't
- sound smart financially,
- 1425
- 01:00:53,092 --> 01:00:56,975
- that's on me, and it'sâ€Ââ€Â
- no one made me do that.
- 1426
- 01:00:56,975 --> 01:01:01,443
- DAVE: But about a week before
- the festival was to take place,
- 1427
- 01:01:01,443 --> 01:01:05,241
- attendees started receiving
- this email.
- 1428
- 01:01:05,241 --> 01:01:08,331
- The email said,
- "This is a cashless event,
- 1429
- 01:01:08,331 --> 01:01:10,795
- "and you'll be paying
- for the festival
- 1430
- 01:01:10,795 --> 01:01:12,715
- using a wristband."
- 1431
- 01:01:12,715 --> 01:01:14,552
- You load the wristband
- with money,
- 1432
- 01:01:14,552 --> 01:01:16,807
- and then whenever
- you wanna buy anything,
- 1433
- 01:01:16,807 --> 01:01:21,023
- you scan the wristband and
- it's debited from the account.
- 1434
- 01:01:21,023 --> 01:01:22,485
- SETH: The directions
- in the email
- 1435
- 01:01:22,485 --> 01:01:23,487
- said you were required
- 1436
- 01:01:23,487 --> 01:01:24,948
- to put something on it.
- 1437
- 01:01:24,948 --> 01:01:27,704
- "We recommend
- at least $300 per day."
- 1438
- 01:01:27,704 --> 01:01:30,668
- People asked me,
- "Are those red flags?"
- 1439
- 01:01:30,668 --> 01:01:32,463
- And I thought, "I don't know.
- 1440
- 01:01:32,463 --> 01:01:34,426
- I've never planned
- a music event before."
- 1441
- 01:01:34,426 --> 01:01:36,805
- DAVE: Whenever he's
- doing a scam,
- 1442
- 01:01:36,805 --> 01:01:40,061
- it kind of always gets in this,
- like, realm of believability
- 1443
- 01:01:40,061 --> 01:01:43,444
- because festivals do use
- cashless wristbands.
- 1444
- 01:01:43,444 --> 01:01:46,450
- MAN: Did the decision
- to make the wristbands
- 1445
- 01:01:46,450 --> 01:01:48,829
- and have people upload cash
- have anything to do
- 1446
- 01:01:48,829 --> 01:01:51,417
- with your loan
- to Ezra Birnbaum?
- 1447
- 01:01:51,417 --> 01:01:54,674
- †Uh...
- 1448
- 01:01:56,720 --> 01:01:58,181
- DAVE: Our reporting found
- 1449
- 01:01:58,181 --> 01:02:02,690
- that plan itself raised
- about $2 million.
- 1450
- 01:02:09,954 --> 01:02:12,417
- FELIX: Every day,
- it was something new.
- 1451
- 01:02:12,417 --> 01:02:14,672
- Everyone was very stressed out.
- 1452
- 01:02:14,672 --> 01:02:17,135
- There were a lot of people
- that weren't paid.
- 1453
- 01:02:17,135 --> 01:02:19,432
- DIALLO: And I remember
- one day in particular,
- 1454
- 01:02:19,432 --> 01:02:21,603
- we were out there working,
- and all of the sudden,
- 1455
- 01:02:21,603 --> 01:02:23,440
- I see a cop show up
- and they're shutting down
- 1456
- 01:02:23,440 --> 01:02:25,276
- the job site.
- 1457
- 01:02:25,276 --> 01:02:27,782
- Why? Because these guys aren't
- paying national insurance.
- 1458
- 01:02:27,782 --> 01:02:30,370
- [dramatic music]
- 1459
- 01:02:30,370 --> 01:02:33,292
- FELIX: A week before
- the festival,
- 1460
- 01:02:33,292 --> 01:02:36,883
- everyone seems to know that
- this is not going to happen.
- 1461
- 01:02:36,883 --> 01:02:38,554
- †Seven days in advance,
- 1462
- 01:02:38,554 --> 01:02:40,139
- we knew that we didn't
- have enough accommodations
- 1463
- 01:02:40,139 --> 01:02:43,104
- for guests, and now
- the slippery slope begins.
- 1464
- 01:02:43,104 --> 01:02:45,776
- ♪ ♪
- 1465
- 01:02:45,776 --> 01:02:47,697
- AVA: The contractor was
- begging for more time,
- 1466
- 01:02:47,697 --> 01:02:49,324
- and they were like, "No.
- There's no more time."
- 1467
- 01:02:49,324 --> 01:02:51,036
- DANIEL: And you don't have
- radio communication.
- 1468
- 01:02:51,036 --> 01:02:52,999
- Why? Because the guy didn't
- pay the customs bill.
- 1469
- 01:02:52,999 --> 01:02:55,003
- ♪ ♪
- 1470
- 01:02:55,003 --> 01:02:57,132
- OREN: The FuckJerry team
- was still posting stuff.
- 1471
- 01:02:57,132 --> 01:02:58,510
- I could say, "I'm scared."
- 1472
- 01:02:58,510 --> 01:02:59,971
- I could say,
- "This is dangerous."
- 1473
- 01:02:59,971 --> 01:03:01,600
- It won't change anything
- 1474
- 01:03:01,600 --> 01:03:04,564
- 'cause the festival
- has to happen.
- 1475
- 01:03:04,564 --> 01:03:06,275
- FELIX: It was chaos.
- At the end, I was like,
- 1476
- 01:03:06,275 --> 01:03:07,653
- "This shit ain't happening.
- 1477
- 01:03:07,653 --> 01:03:09,574
- I'm getting a flight
- out of here."
- 1478
- 01:03:09,574 --> 01:03:10,993
- NICK: People started
- to have breakdowns.
- 1479
- 01:03:10,993 --> 01:03:12,747
- People started to have
- panic attacks.
- 1480
- 01:03:12,747 --> 01:03:14,626
- †No idea what they were doing.
- †It was a shitshow.
- 1481
- 01:03:14,626 --> 01:03:18,842
- †Just chaos and anarchy.
- 1482
- 01:03:18,842 --> 01:03:24,520
- FELIX: The night before,
- we worked through the night.
- 1483
- 01:03:24,520 --> 01:03:26,608
- We were driving back
- to the house.
- 1484
- 01:03:26,608 --> 01:03:28,946
- It's, like, 3:00 a.m.
- at this point
- 1485
- 01:03:28,946 --> 01:03:30,908
- and it starts to rain,
- and we're like, "Okay.
- 1486
- 01:03:30,908 --> 01:03:32,995
- It might just be light rain."
- And then...
- 1487
- 01:03:32,995 --> 01:03:34,540
- ♪ ♪
- 1488
- 01:03:34,540 --> 01:03:38,799
- NICK: And it started
- monsooning.
- 1489
- 01:03:38,799 --> 01:03:41,429
- We all started crying
- of laughter.
- 1490
- 01:03:41,429 --> 01:03:42,932
- It was, like, hours before
- the first people
- 1491
- 01:03:42,932 --> 01:03:44,769
- were supposed to get here.
- 1492
- 01:03:44,769 --> 01:03:46,773
- †And then thunder
- and then the lights go out
- 1493
- 01:03:46,773 --> 01:03:48,777
- and the roads look like
- they're flooded.
- 1494
- 01:03:48,777 --> 01:03:53,119
- I thought to myself,
- "This is an act of God."
- 1495
- 01:03:53,119 --> 01:03:58,045
- And, you know,
- it was kind of like...
- 1496
- 01:03:58,045 --> 01:04:00,133
- †That's it.
- That'sâ€Ââ€Âthat's it.
- 1497
- 01:04:00,133 --> 01:04:02,638
- It's two hours from now.
- We're fucked.
- 1498
- 01:04:02,638 --> 01:04:05,728
- ♪ ♪
- 1499
- 01:04:05,728 --> 01:04:08,734
- [alarm blares]
- 1500
- 01:04:11,489 --> 01:04:14,495
- [eerie music]
- 1501
- 01:04:14,495 --> 01:04:16,123
- ♪ ♪
- 1502
- 01:04:16,123 --> 01:04:18,587
- DAVE: Before Fyre Festival,
- 1503
- 01:04:18,587 --> 01:04:22,553
- there was definitely some
- disastrous festivals.
- 1504
- 01:04:22,553 --> 01:04:24,264
- [crowd shouting]
- 1505
- 01:04:24,264 --> 01:04:27,730
- The Hells Angels stabbing
- someone at Altamont Speedway
- 1506
- 01:04:27,730 --> 01:04:30,109
- with the Rolling Stones.
- 1507
- 01:04:30,109 --> 01:04:32,907
- MAN: Everybody, just cool out!
- 1508
- 01:04:35,746 --> 01:04:37,917
- DAVE: And then Woodstock 1999,
- 1509
- 01:04:37,917 --> 01:04:43,052
- it was almost like
- this apocalyptic event.
- 1510
- 01:04:43,052 --> 01:04:45,891
- Whenever a festival fails,
- it's something about it
- 1511
- 01:04:45,891 --> 01:04:48,730
- that really fascinates people.
- 1512
- 01:04:48,730 --> 01:04:51,235
- So fastâ€Âforward to today.
- 1513
- 01:04:51,235 --> 01:04:53,740
- We are at high alert.
- 1514
- 01:04:53,740 --> 01:04:55,619
- [alarm blaring]
- 1515
- 01:04:55,619 --> 01:04:56,996
- We didn't know
- what was gonna happen.
- 1516
- 01:04:56,996 --> 01:05:00,002
- We just knew we had to tune in.
- 1517
- 01:05:00,002 --> 01:05:03,760
- So I basically set up
- a little mini war room.
- 1518
- 01:05:03,760 --> 01:05:06,766
- †We are at DEFCON 1.
- MAN: DEFCON 1.
- 1519
- 01:05:06,766 --> 01:05:08,812
- †Well, okay, so the war room
- was at my house.
- 1520
- 01:05:08,812 --> 01:05:11,442
- It was just me, but I had
- the computer up.
- 1521
- 01:05:11,442 --> 01:05:13,864
- I was watching different
- Twitter feeds.
- 1522
- 01:05:13,864 --> 01:05:16,034
- Anybody who was gonna
- go to Fyre Fest,
- 1523
- 01:05:16,034 --> 01:05:17,913
- I was following them.
- 1524
- 01:05:17,913 --> 01:05:21,796
- †It is Thursday, officially
- the day of my flight to Fyre.
- 1525
- 01:05:21,796 --> 01:05:25,344
- †We're about to go
- to Fyre Festival.
- 1526
- 01:05:25,344 --> 01:05:27,098
- CC: So this Fyre Festival,
- right,
- 1527
- 01:05:27,098 --> 01:05:29,394
- it's like history
- in the making.
- 1528
- 01:05:29,394 --> 01:05:31,774
- It's gonna be interesting
- one way or another.
- 1529
- 01:05:31,774 --> 01:05:35,991
- †Going to the Bahamas.
- Wow.
- 1530
- 01:05:35,991 --> 01:05:39,457
- SETH: We got an email Thursday
- on morning that said
- 1531
- 01:05:39,457 --> 01:05:41,335
- they were still putting
- things together
- 1532
- 01:05:41,335 --> 01:05:43,005
- so you might see some trucks,
- 1533
- 01:05:43,005 --> 01:05:45,427
- you might see some people
- moving some stuff around,
- 1534
- 01:05:45,427 --> 01:05:47,514
- and just kind of bear
- with them.
- 1535
- 01:05:47,514 --> 01:05:50,938
- We even joked and, like,
- bought toilet paper
- 1536
- 01:05:50,938 --> 01:05:52,315
- before we went and thought,
- you know,
- 1537
- 01:05:52,315 --> 01:05:54,820
- "This might end up being
- currency."
- 1538
- 01:05:54,820 --> 01:05:57,660
- And then while we were
- waiting in the airport,
- 1539
- 01:05:57,660 --> 01:06:00,331
- we saw that Blink 182 had
- tweeted out
- 1540
- 01:06:00,331 --> 01:06:03,087
- that they were not gonna play.
- 1541
- 01:06:03,087 --> 01:06:07,345
- "Well, one band has backed out,
- but that's just one band."
- 1542
- 01:06:07,345 --> 01:06:10,894
- Everything was gonna be fine,
- right?
- 1543
- 01:06:10,894 --> 01:06:14,025
- AUSTIN: [sighs] I'm saying
- my prayers right now.
- 1544
- 01:06:14,025 --> 01:06:17,323
- Could be amazing.
- Could be a disaster.
- 1545
- 01:06:17,323 --> 01:06:20,622
- STEWARD: And your seats
- in their upright positions.
- 1546
- 01:06:20,622 --> 01:06:22,166
- Thank you very much.
- 1547
- 01:06:22,166 --> 01:06:25,882
- †All right, we are here
- in the "private jet."
- 1548
- 01:06:25,882 --> 01:06:27,553
- GIRL: [laughs]
- 1549
- 01:06:27,553 --> 01:06:30,600
- †It's actually worse than,
- like, really, like,
- 1550
- 01:06:30,600 --> 01:06:33,732
- being, like, low,
- low economy class.
- 1551
- 01:06:33,732 --> 01:06:35,736
- [awkward music]
- 1552
- 01:06:35,736 --> 01:06:37,823
- ♪ ♪
- 1553
- 01:06:37,823 --> 01:06:39,785
- AUSTIN: There were some people
- already on the island,
- 1554
- 01:06:39,785 --> 01:06:42,875
- including a couple
- of our friends.
- 1555
- 01:06:42,875 --> 01:06:45,422
- But our friends were redirected
- to another place on the island,
- 1556
- 01:06:45,422 --> 01:06:48,052
- which was one of
- the nicer parts.
- 1557
- 01:06:48,052 --> 01:06:50,766
- DANIEL: They decided that
- they would ship
- 1558
- 01:06:50,766 --> 01:06:52,728
- all their first three planes
- 1559
- 01:06:52,728 --> 01:06:55,776
- to somebody else's resort.
- 1560
- 01:06:55,776 --> 01:06:59,366
- †Okay, so we got
- the three cowboys in a row.
- 1561
- 01:06:59,366 --> 01:07:01,244
- OREN: I went down
- to the Bahamas
- 1562
- 01:07:01,244 --> 01:07:03,207
- with the FuckJerry guys.
- 1563
- 01:07:03,207 --> 01:07:07,090
- We're at that side party that
- they threw everyone to.
- 1564
- 01:07:07,090 --> 01:07:09,219
- This is weird.
- 1565
- 01:07:09,219 --> 01:07:12,726
- This already seemed
- like a nosedive.
- 1566
- 01:07:12,726 --> 01:07:15,356
- You could tell everyone's like,
- "All right.
- 1567
- 01:07:15,356 --> 01:07:17,820
- Could we go do the thing,
- like, now?"
- 1568
- 01:07:17,820 --> 01:07:21,702
- Planes are landing
- and people are showing up.
- 1569
- 01:07:21,702 --> 01:07:23,372
- †We're here!
- 1570
- 01:07:23,372 --> 01:07:25,919
- [excited chatter]
- 1571
- 01:07:25,919 --> 01:07:29,552
- AUSTIN: We were all packed into
- the yellow school bus.
- 1572
- 01:07:29,552 --> 01:07:33,643
- SETH: So a maybe 10â€Â
- or 15â€Âminute drive,
- 1573
- 01:07:33,643 --> 01:07:37,316
- and right as soon as you get
- to the entrance...
- 1574
- 01:07:37,316 --> 01:07:40,406
- WOMAN: [sobs] Oh, God.
- MAN: Oh, my God.
- 1575
- 01:07:40,406 --> 01:07:42,619
- WOMAN: Oh...
- 1576
- 01:07:42,619 --> 01:07:44,707
- Oh, God.
- 1577
- 01:07:44,707 --> 01:07:46,376
- AUSTIN: A girl next
- to me on the bus
- 1578
- 01:07:46,376 --> 01:07:47,713
- started bawling and crying.
- 1579
- 01:07:47,713 --> 01:07:49,925
- WOMAN: [crying] Turn around.
- 1580
- 01:07:49,925 --> 01:07:51,386
- MAN: There's no bed
- in that tent.
- 1581
- 01:07:51,386 --> 01:07:53,600
- There's no beds in the tents.
- 1582
- 01:07:53,600 --> 01:07:55,854
- WOMAN: Amber was like,
- "This isn't funny!"
- 1583
- 01:07:55,854 --> 01:07:57,524
- [chatter]
- 1584
- 01:07:57,524 --> 01:08:01,657
- SETH: It was just gravel,
- mattresses stacked up
- 1585
- 01:08:01,657 --> 01:08:03,368
- along the road.
- 1586
- 01:08:03,368 --> 01:08:07,586
- MAN: That's an air mattress.
- I see an air mattress.
- 1587
- 01:08:07,586 --> 01:08:09,673
- AUSTIN: I mean,
- this is just crazy.
- 1588
- 01:08:09,673 --> 01:08:11,511
- There's, like, 50 tents
- that are ready,
- 1589
- 01:08:11,511 --> 01:08:14,057
- and all the rest aren't.
- 1590
- 01:08:14,057 --> 01:08:15,519
- SETH: There was plenty
- of liquor.
- 1591
- 01:08:15,519 --> 01:08:17,230
- There were just pallets
- of liquor bottles
- 1592
- 01:08:17,230 --> 01:08:20,236
- sitting next to kiosks that
- said "bar."
- 1593
- 01:08:20,236 --> 01:08:23,116
- †What's happening?
- There's no water over there.
- 1594
- 01:08:23,116 --> 01:08:26,039
- Oh, Jesus.
- 1595
- 01:08:26,039 --> 01:08:28,252
- Maybe we all get
- to burn it down at the end?
- 1596
- 01:08:28,252 --> 01:08:31,258
- [laughs] We just burned all
- of our money.
- 1597
- 01:08:31,258 --> 01:08:34,807
- SETH: This is not what we
- signed up for.
- 1598
- 01:08:34,807 --> 01:08:40,359
- OREN: The first thing I saw
- was, "These are FEMA tents.
- 1599
- 01:08:40,359 --> 01:08:45,244
- What have I done?"
- My child is like Satan.
- 1600
- 01:08:45,244 --> 01:08:50,045
- This is such a disaster,
- but I heard that
- 1601
- 01:08:50,045 --> 01:08:52,593
- some influencers
- actually got villas.
- 1602
- 01:08:52,593 --> 01:08:53,886
- Like, mansions.
- 1603
- 01:08:53,886 --> 01:08:56,182
- †Look at this kitchen!
- 1604
- 01:08:56,182 --> 01:08:59,272
- We actually did have a villa.
- 1605
- 01:08:59,272 --> 01:09:01,318
- We felt real bad.
- 1606
- 01:09:01,318 --> 01:09:04,157
- [dance music]
- 1607
- 01:09:04,157 --> 01:09:06,954
- [laughs]
- 1608
- 01:09:06,954 --> 01:09:09,960
- [tense hipâ€Âhop beats]
- 1609
- 01:09:09,960 --> 01:09:11,422
- AUSTIN: I hate you for telling
- me to come here.
- 1610
- 01:09:11,422 --> 01:09:12,924
- †[laughing] It wasn't me.
- It was you.
- 1611
- 01:09:12,924 --> 01:09:14,218
- AUSTIN: I hate you. I hate you.
- 1612
- 01:09:14,218 --> 01:09:17,684
- ♪ ♪
- 1613
- 01:09:17,684 --> 01:09:20,064
- People were freaking out.
- 1614
- 01:09:20,064 --> 01:09:21,817
- No one had their room.
- 1615
- 01:09:21,817 --> 01:09:24,698
- No one knew where
- their bags were.
- 1616
- 01:09:24,698 --> 01:09:26,452
- SETH: There were just
- lines forming
- 1617
- 01:09:26,452 --> 01:09:31,002
- in front of the blue house,
- so we got in line.
- 1618
- 01:09:31,002 --> 01:09:32,923
- NICK: So I went out there
- with my laptop.
- 1619
- 01:09:32,923 --> 01:09:35,887
- There was a line of, like,
- 600 people in front of me.
- 1620
- 01:09:35,887 --> 01:09:38,476
- And I just, one by one, just
- started plugging away.
- 1621
- 01:09:38,476 --> 01:09:40,020
- You know, tent by tent,
- tent by tent.
- 1622
- 01:09:40,020 --> 01:09:41,774
- And we startedâ€Ââ€Âwe had
- a system going.
- 1623
- 01:09:41,774 --> 01:09:45,197
- We got through maybe
- 400 people,
- 1624
- 01:09:45,197 --> 01:09:47,326
- but then Billy stood up
- on that table
- 1625
- 01:09:47,326 --> 01:09:49,873
- and he decided to undo
- everything that I had done.
- 1626
- 01:09:52,294 --> 01:09:55,760
- SETH: And he kind of just said,
- "Go find a tent."
- 1627
- 01:09:55,760 --> 01:09:58,766
- [overlapping chatter]
- 1628
- 01:10:00,102 --> 01:10:03,358
- FELIX: And everyone's
- just running.
- 1629
- 01:10:03,358 --> 01:10:06,907
- NICK: It was just this mad dash
- to claim your tent.
- 1630
- 01:10:06,907 --> 01:10:08,745
- MAN: Shit.
- 1631
- 01:10:08,745 --> 01:10:10,832
- AUSTIN: It was definitely
- a state of panic.
- 1632
- 01:10:10,832 --> 01:10:12,502
- MAN: They're just telling
- everyone it's a freeâ€Âforâ€Âall,
- 1633
- 01:10:12,502 --> 01:10:14,005
- to just find an empty tent
- and grab it,
- 1634
- 01:10:14,005 --> 01:10:15,967
- so this whole place
- is pretty fucked.
- 1635
- 01:10:15,967 --> 01:10:19,683
- †Things could go terribly,
- terribly wrong at this point.
- 1636
- 01:10:19,683 --> 01:10:21,352
- †It's about to be pitch
- black out here.
- 1637
- 01:10:21,352 --> 01:10:23,441
- †People are panicking.
- †People are panicking.
- 1638
- 01:10:23,441 --> 01:10:26,989
- Like, tripping out.
- †Okay.
- 1639
- 01:10:26,989 --> 01:10:29,620
- †We have 250 houses rented
- for millions of dollars
- 1640
- 01:10:29,620 --> 01:10:32,626
- with paper receipts
- and pictures of every house.
- 1641
- 01:10:32,626 --> 01:10:35,047
- MAN: Why didn't your guests get
- to those houses
- 1642
- 01:10:35,047 --> 01:10:37,259
- that you rented?
- 1643
- 01:10:37,259 --> 01:10:40,182
- ♪ ♪
- 1644
- 01:10:40,182 --> 01:10:43,021
- †We had a box
- of physical keys,
- 1645
- 01:10:43,021 --> 01:10:45,527
- cars to take people there,
- 1646
- 01:10:45,527 --> 01:10:47,404
- and maps
- for every single house,
- 1647
- 01:10:47,404 --> 01:10:51,622
- and the box of keysâ€Ââ€Â
- unfortunately, it went missing.
- 1648
- 01:10:51,622 --> 01:10:54,127
- MAN: You lost a box of keys
- to twoâ€Âmillion dollars' worth
- 1649
- 01:10:54,127 --> 01:10:56,507
- of houses?
- †Mmâ€Âhmm.
- 1650
- 01:10:56,507 --> 01:10:59,387
- MAN: So why didn't you tell
- that to the guests?
- 1651
- 01:11:03,311 --> 01:11:05,315
- [awkward music]
- 1652
- 01:11:05,315 --> 01:11:09,407
- ♪ ♪
- 1653
- 01:11:09,407 --> 01:11:11,912
- DAVE: After Blink 182
- dropped out,
- 1654
- 01:11:11,912 --> 01:11:14,333
- a lot of the bands just never
- got on the plane
- 1655
- 01:11:14,333 --> 01:11:18,885
- because they could sense it was
- a smoldering heap.
- 1656
- 01:11:18,885 --> 01:11:20,387
- AUSTIN: This is, like,
- five or six hours later,
- 1657
- 01:11:20,387 --> 01:11:21,724
- we still don't have
- our luggage.
- 1658
- 01:11:21,724 --> 01:11:23,978
- †What the fuck are
- we gonna do?
- 1659
- 01:11:23,978 --> 01:11:26,775
- SETH: And that's when we ended
- up at that shipping container
- 1660
- 01:11:26,775 --> 01:11:29,781
- where they were throwing
- luggage out,
- 1661
- 01:11:29,781 --> 01:11:33,623
- like the whiteâ€Âglove concierge
- service that they promised.
- 1662
- 01:11:33,623 --> 01:11:36,002
- AUSTIN: There was absolutely
- zero organization.
- 1663
- 01:11:36,002 --> 01:11:38,758
- NICK: People had to
- literally fight through
- 1664
- 01:11:38,758 --> 01:11:40,553
- and try to find their bags.
- 1665
- 01:11:40,553 --> 01:11:43,684
- That is the worst thing
- you could have possibly done.
- 1666
- 01:11:43,684 --> 01:11:47,484
- AUSTIN: People are
- carrying mattresses.
- 1667
- 01:11:47,484 --> 01:11:51,074
- SETH: So I tweet out,
- "Look at this.
- 1668
- 01:11:51,074 --> 01:11:52,869
- "Do you see these lockers?
- 1669
- 01:11:52,869 --> 01:11:56,919
- "Do you see
- the luxury food court?
- 1670
- 01:11:56,919 --> 01:11:59,967
- Do you see this luxury
- cheese sandwich?"
- 1671
- 01:11:59,967 --> 01:12:02,054
- CALVIN: At the same time,
- 1672
- 01:12:02,054 --> 01:12:05,018
- Billy's lawyers were issuing
- cease and desist orders
- 1673
- 01:12:05,018 --> 01:12:09,193
- to anyone that's actively
- posting negative comments.
- 1674
- 01:12:09,193 --> 01:12:11,615
- BEN: They were threatening,
- "We're gonna sue you."
- 1675
- 01:12:11,615 --> 01:12:14,328
- It wasn't just rich kids
- trapped on an island to me.
- 1676
- 01:12:14,328 --> 01:12:16,875
- At that point, it was also
- a health concern
- 1677
- 01:12:16,875 --> 01:12:19,297
- that there were people
- literally trapped on an island.
- 1678
- 01:12:19,297 --> 01:12:22,303
- AUSTIN: This shit is
- a fucking disaster.
- 1679
- 01:12:22,303 --> 01:12:25,935
- My immediate reaction was,
- "We need to get out of here."
- 1680
- 01:12:25,935 --> 01:12:27,772
- Like, #RescueMission,
- 1681
- 01:12:27,772 --> 01:12:29,901
- um...
- 1682
- 01:12:29,901 --> 01:12:32,657
- ♪ ♪
- 1683
- 01:12:32,657 --> 01:12:35,455
- AVA: There was just, like,
- a run on the airports.
- 1684
- 01:12:35,455 --> 01:12:36,915
- It was incredibly nightmarish
- 1685
- 01:12:36,915 --> 01:12:38,209
- because they had to deal
- with persons
- 1686
- 01:12:38,209 --> 01:12:40,380
- who were high out of your mind.
- 1687
- 01:12:40,380 --> 01:12:44,848
- Very rowdy...
- †145! Whoo!
- 1688
- 01:12:44,848 --> 01:12:49,398
- ALL: ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
- 1689
- 01:12:49,398 --> 01:12:51,027
- SETH: They had been drinking
- all day.
- 1690
- 01:12:51,027 --> 01:12:53,114
- There was a guy
- putting baby oil
- 1691
- 01:12:53,114 --> 01:12:55,410
- on his completely
- sunburned body
- 1692
- 01:12:55,410 --> 01:12:57,373
- just hammered at, like,
- 11:30 at night,
- 1693
- 01:12:57,373 --> 01:12:59,461
- and we're just sitting
- there like,
- 1694
- 01:12:59,461 --> 01:13:03,761
- "When do we get off
- this island?"
- 1695
- 01:13:03,761 --> 01:13:05,556
- †Mind you, at this point,
- everyone's starting
- 1696
- 01:13:05,556 --> 01:13:08,186
- to get antsy, grumpy,
- hungry, thirsty.
- 1697
- 01:13:08,186 --> 01:13:10,315
- SETH: One guy passed out,
- 1698
- 01:13:10,315 --> 01:13:12,027
- and they had to take him
- to the hospital.
- 1699
- 01:13:12,027 --> 01:13:13,823
- AUSTIN: People were starting
- to yell and scream.
- 1700
- 01:13:13,823 --> 01:13:15,910
- They brought, like,
- police from the island
- 1701
- 01:13:15,910 --> 01:13:17,956
- into the room
- to calm people down.
- 1702
- 01:13:17,956 --> 01:13:19,626
- MAN: When do we get
- our money back?
- 1703
- 01:13:19,626 --> 01:13:22,256
- AUSTIN: Finally, we hear
- a plane is actually coming.
- 1704
- 01:13:22,256 --> 01:13:25,805
- †We made it!
- †We made it!
- 1705
- 01:13:25,805 --> 01:13:27,934
- SETH: We get on the plane
- 1706
- 01:13:27,934 --> 01:13:29,938
- and the pilot does
- the headcount,
- 1707
- 01:13:29,938 --> 01:13:31,775
- and it doesn't match up
- with the manifest.
- 1708
- 01:13:31,775 --> 01:13:34,196
- †We need to pay attention.
- He's gonna be calling names.
- 1709
- 01:13:34,196 --> 01:13:36,493
- AUSTIN: The U. S. wouldn't
- let us come back
- 1710
- 01:13:36,493 --> 01:13:40,793
- because we had 111 names
- and 112 people on the flight.
- 1711
- 01:13:40,793 --> 01:13:42,672
- SETH: So he's making
- everybody wake up
- 1712
- 01:13:42,672 --> 01:13:45,511
- and get off the plane.
- 1713
- 01:13:45,511 --> 01:13:47,974
- †We are officially off
- the plane.
- 1714
- 01:13:47,974 --> 01:13:49,769
- [bossa nova music]
- 1715
- 01:13:49,769 --> 01:13:53,109
- ♪ ♪
- 1716
- 01:13:53,109 --> 01:13:57,702
- So far, heading to be
- the worst 24 hours of my life.
- 1717
- 01:13:57,702 --> 01:13:59,163
- SETH: We get back on the plane.
- 1718
- 01:13:59,163 --> 01:14:03,129
- †4:51 a. m.,
- still sitting here.
- 1719
- 01:14:03,129 --> 01:14:05,050
- SETH: And then the pilot
- comes back.
- 1720
- 01:14:05,050 --> 01:14:07,346
- †Ladies and gentlemen,
- I got some bad news.
- 1721
- 01:14:07,346 --> 01:14:11,354
- SETH: Due to FAA regulations,
- that crew has to leave.
- 1722
- 01:14:11,354 --> 01:14:16,280
- They've been on for too long.
- MAN: Let us go home.
- 1723
- 01:14:16,280 --> 01:14:19,411
- AUSTIN: We go back
- into the waiting room.
- 1724
- 01:14:19,411 --> 01:14:21,542
- SETH: And they lock the doors.
- 1725
- 01:14:21,542 --> 01:14:23,546
- †We couldn't have anyone going
- out of the air side,
- 1726
- 01:14:23,546 --> 01:14:26,426
- light up a cigarette,
- a fuel truck explodes.
- 1727
- 01:14:26,426 --> 01:14:28,263
- Then we have a bigger issue.
- 1728
- 01:14:28,263 --> 01:14:29,933
- STEWARD: Please take your seat
- and fasten your seatbelts.
- 1729
- 01:14:29,933 --> 01:14:32,229
- [cheers and applause]
- 1730
- 01:14:32,229 --> 01:14:34,191
- [engine roars]
- 1731
- 01:14:34,191 --> 01:14:36,237
- SETH: On the plane,
- I got an email that said,
- 1732
- 01:14:36,237 --> 01:14:38,701
- "We got off to a rough start
- on day one.
- 1733
- 01:14:38,701 --> 01:14:41,540
- But day two's gonna be, you
- know, awesome."
- 1734
- 01:14:41,540 --> 01:14:43,460
- †Crazy.
- 1735
- 01:14:43,460 --> 01:14:46,048
- JAKE: And then things
- just blew up.
- 1736
- 01:14:46,048 --> 01:14:48,386
- †Nightmare in paradise.
- There was no music.
- 1737
- 01:14:48,386 --> 01:14:50,307
- REPORTER: They were put into
- disaster relief tents.
- 1738
- 01:14:50,307 --> 01:14:52,352
- REPORTER: Slice of cheese
- on bread.
- 1739
- 01:14:52,352 --> 01:14:54,941
- †For 48 hours, it was the
- number one trending story
- 1740
- 01:14:54,941 --> 01:14:56,695
- on the news.
- 1741
- 01:14:56,695 --> 01:14:58,574
- JIA: The media loves to write
- about millennials
- 1742
- 01:14:58,574 --> 01:15:01,913
- that are really rich,
- really white, spoiled,
- 1743
- 01:15:01,913 --> 01:15:03,792
- so when you have all of them
- stuck on an island
- 1744
- 01:15:03,792 --> 01:15:05,630
- having a shit fit,
- 1745
- 01:15:05,630 --> 01:15:07,425
- people were gleeful.
- 1746
- 01:15:07,425 --> 01:15:10,138
- †Other events that Kendall
- Jenner has been promoting:
- 1747
- 01:15:10,138 --> 01:15:13,102
- the Mount Etna
- Active Volcano Rave.
- 1748
- 01:15:13,102 --> 01:15:15,775
- JIA: You know, this, like,
- tsunami of schadenfreude.
- 1749
- 01:15:15,775 --> 01:15:17,612
- REPORTER: Some people are
- calling it
- 1750
- 01:15:17,612 --> 01:15:19,532
- rich people's problems.
- 1751
- 01:15:19,532 --> 01:15:22,412
- JIA: It's like, "Inject it
- directly into my veins.
- 1752
- 01:15:22,412 --> 01:15:25,210
- "I want nothing but this
- 1753
- 01:15:25,210 --> 01:15:26,880
- until the supply runs dry."
- 1754
- 01:15:26,880 --> 01:15:28,634
- CONAN: What do you think
- of the Fyre Festival?
- 1755
- 01:15:28,634 --> 01:15:30,220
- DAVE MATTHEWS: One of the
- greatest things
- 1756
- 01:15:30,220 --> 01:15:31,515
- that's ever happened.
- I mean, it's terrible.
- 1757
- 01:15:31,515 --> 01:15:33,267
- I mean, I know it's terrible.
- 1758
- 01:15:33,267 --> 01:15:35,230
- WOMAN: We had no electricity.
- There was no showers.
- 1759
- 01:15:35,230 --> 01:15:36,608
- There was no bathrooms.
- There's no, like,
- 1760
- 01:15:36,608 --> 01:15:38,361
- running water.
- 1761
- 01:15:38,361 --> 01:15:40,825
- †Man, white people love
- camping unless it's a surprise.
- 1762
- 01:15:40,825 --> 01:15:43,706
- [laughter]
- 1763
- 01:15:43,706 --> 01:15:45,626
- †Our firm started getting
- messages
- 1764
- 01:15:45,626 --> 01:15:47,379
- from people who were there.
- 1765
- 01:15:47,379 --> 01:15:51,345
- Images, screengrabs,
- audio, video.
- 1766
- 01:15:51,345 --> 01:15:54,351
- And it invoked these images
- of "The Hunger Games"
- 1767
- 01:15:54,351 --> 01:15:56,063
- or "Lord of the Flies."
- 1768
- 01:15:56,063 --> 01:15:57,942
- †Release the monster!
- 1769
- 01:15:57,942 --> 01:16:01,031
- †And it was like, you know,
- "Holy shit. This is serious."
- 1770
- 01:16:01,031 --> 01:16:03,704
- I called all the associates
- into the office.
- 1771
- 01:16:03,704 --> 01:16:05,373
- I said, "We're drafting
- a complaint."
- 1772
- 01:16:05,373 --> 01:16:08,171
- And we actually filed
- on a Sunday night.
- 1773
- 01:16:08,171 --> 01:16:10,926
- REPORTER: The failed
- Fyre Festival has been hit
- 1774
- 01:16:10,926 --> 01:16:15,436
- with a $100 million lawsuit.
- 1775
- 01:16:15,436 --> 01:16:17,774
- BEN: We asserted
- $100 million damages,
- 1776
- 01:16:17,774 --> 01:16:20,069
- which is a large number.
- 1777
- 01:16:20,069 --> 01:16:23,494
- It was my view that he should
- basically pay back
- 1778
- 01:16:23,494 --> 01:16:26,081
- everything that the company
- could've been worth
- 1779
- 01:16:26,081 --> 01:16:29,254
- to his victims.
- 1780
- 01:16:29,254 --> 01:16:31,383
- CALVIN: While the Fyre Festival
- was gone,
- 1781
- 01:16:31,383 --> 01:16:33,597
- Billy still had the Fyre app,
- 1782
- 01:16:33,597 --> 01:16:35,726
- which was a talentâ€Âbooking app,
- and, you know,
- 1783
- 01:16:35,726 --> 01:16:38,732
- a number of employees that were
- still working on it.
- 1784
- 01:16:38,732 --> 01:16:40,611
- And there was this letter
- where the employees
- 1785
- 01:16:40,611 --> 01:16:44,702
- of the Fyre app were seeking
- to separate themselves
- 1786
- 01:16:44,702 --> 01:16:46,498
- from the festival.
- 1787
- 01:16:46,498 --> 01:16:50,213
- †The first demand they made
- was that Billy fire Grant.
- 1788
- 01:16:50,213 --> 01:16:53,261
- "Grant was abusive,"
- they were saying.
- 1789
- 01:16:53,261 --> 01:16:56,685
- You know, "Grant caused a lot
- of these problems."
- 1790
- 01:16:56,685 --> 01:17:00,526
- CALVIN: And then someone had
- recorded this internal call
- 1791
- 01:17:00,526 --> 01:17:03,322
- between Billy and
- the Fyre app employees
- 1792
- 01:17:03,322 --> 01:17:06,245
- and then posted it
- on Soundcloud.
- 1793
- 01:17:12,842 --> 01:17:14,177
- CALVIN: Billy was still
- representing
- 1794
- 01:17:14,177 --> 01:17:16,348
- that this Comcast investment,
- 1795
- 01:17:16,348 --> 01:17:18,437
- which I had effectively killed,
- 1796
- 01:17:18,437 --> 01:17:20,148
- was still going
- to be coming in.
- 1797
- 01:17:20,148 --> 01:17:22,653
- DAVE: They started
- expressing shock
- 1798
- 01:17:22,653 --> 01:17:26,118
- that the Comcast investment
- never really happened.
- 1799
- 01:17:31,003 --> 01:17:33,341
- MAN: You told several employees
- that "there was a $20 million
- 1800
- 01:17:33,341 --> 01:17:36,890
- investment.
- We're gonna be fine."
- 1801
- 01:17:36,890 --> 01:17:40,021
- †I can't comment on that.
- 1802
- 01:17:40,021 --> 01:17:42,192
- CALVIN: Not only had he
- successfully conned
- 1803
- 01:17:42,192 --> 01:17:46,325
- ticket holders, but he had also
- successfully conned employees.
- 1804
- 01:17:46,325 --> 01:17:50,083
- And instead of trying to figure
- out how to make it right,
- 1805
- 01:17:50,083 --> 01:17:53,423
- Billy decides that he's
- now a movie producer.
- 1806
- 01:17:53,423 --> 01:17:58,600
- ♪ ♪
- 1807
- 01:17:58,600 --> 01:18:01,355
- MICHAEL: I get a call,
- and it's Billy McFarland.
- 1808
- 01:18:01,355 --> 01:18:05,447
- I picked up just with, like,
- a "hey, how's it going?"
- 1809
- 01:18:05,447 --> 01:18:08,411
- Billy wanted to do
- this "recovery documentary."
- 1810
- 01:18:08,411 --> 01:18:12,628
- That's what he was calling it.
- It sounded like a PR exercise.
- 1811
- 01:18:12,628 --> 01:18:15,968
- He says, "Where are you?
- Could you be here tonight?"
- 1812
- 01:18:15,968 --> 01:18:19,349
- And he Venmos me $1,000 on
- the spot to buy a flight.
- 1813
- 01:18:19,349 --> 01:18:21,395
- ♪ ♪
- 1814
- 01:18:21,395 --> 01:18:24,986
- So I get to his penthouse
- and the elevator opens up.
- 1815
- 01:18:24,986 --> 01:18:26,906
- [shower running]
- 1816
- 01:18:26,906 --> 01:18:29,746
- And about 45 minutes goes by,
- and he's still in the shower.
- 1817
- 01:18:29,746 --> 01:18:31,458
- [laughs]
- 1818
- 01:18:31,458 --> 01:18:34,464
- [shower running]
- 1819
- 01:18:34,464 --> 01:18:37,343
- ♪ ♪
- 1820
- 01:18:37,343 --> 01:18:39,932
- That...was interesting.
- 1821
- 01:18:39,932 --> 01:18:42,813
- He was living in
- this posh, clean penthouse,
- 1822
- 01:18:42,813 --> 01:18:45,778
- removed from it all
- by many layers of glass,
- 1823
- 01:18:45,778 --> 01:18:48,240
- and he wanted to get
- to the Bahamas
- 1824
- 01:18:48,240 --> 01:18:51,581
- to try and recoup money
- for investors.
- 1825
- 01:18:51,581 --> 01:18:53,209
- As we're on our way to land,
- 1826
- 01:18:53,209 --> 01:18:54,962
- the entire government
- switches over
- 1827
- 01:18:54,962 --> 01:18:57,843
- and comes out with a statement
- pretty much barring Billy
- 1828
- 01:18:57,843 --> 01:19:00,432
- and the Fyre Festival
- for the rest of eternity.
- 1829
- 01:19:00,432 --> 01:19:02,937
- Yeah.
- 1830
- 01:19:02,937 --> 01:19:06,026
- [tense music]
- 1831
- 01:19:06,026 --> 01:19:08,615
- †Uh, Delroy was gonna help us
- get all of our merchandiseâ€Ââ€Â
- 1832
- 01:19:08,615 --> 01:19:11,411
- all of our Tâ€Âshirts
- and sweatshirts and hats
- 1833
- 01:19:11,411 --> 01:19:12,748
- out of Great Exuma,
- 1834
- 01:19:12,748 --> 01:19:15,086
- but the customs has them
- all locked down.
- 1835
- 01:19:15,086 --> 01:19:17,048
- †They didn't pay
- their customs duties,
- 1836
- 01:19:17,048 --> 01:19:20,681
- so the Fyre Festival's
- merchandise was seized.
- 1837
- 01:19:20,681 --> 01:19:22,935
- †Robbing customs
- was on the bullet list
- 1838
- 01:19:22,935 --> 01:19:26,066
- of things that they
- were planning to do.
- 1839
- 01:19:26,066 --> 01:19:28,362
- I was just curious to see
- how they were even gonna
- 1840
- 01:19:28,362 --> 01:19:30,617
- possibly trick themselves
- into thinking
- 1841
- 01:19:30,617 --> 01:19:32,997
- they could pull that off.
- 1842
- 01:19:32,997 --> 01:19:36,838
- MAN: You say that Billy tried
- to get you to rob customs.
- 1843
- 01:19:36,838 --> 01:19:38,633
- †Yeah, he tried.
- 1844
- 01:19:38,633 --> 01:19:41,263
- BILLY: Did he pay you anything
- for stealing the merch?
- 1845
- 01:19:41,263 --> 01:19:44,102
- †Me ain't never stole
- any merch.
- 1846
- 01:19:44,102 --> 01:19:46,566
- [laughs]
- 1847
- 01:19:46,566 --> 01:19:48,486
- JIMMY: Fyre Music Festival.
- Did you hear about this muâ€Ââ€Â
- 1848
- 01:19:48,486 --> 01:19:51,325
- in the Bahamas?
- [laughing] It was a disaster.
- 1849
- 01:19:51,325 --> 01:19:53,245
- It was a big disaster.
- The bands didn't show up.
- 1850
- 01:19:53,245 --> 01:19:54,582
- Nothing was ready.
- 1851
- 01:19:54,582 --> 01:19:55,834
- Now the organizers
- are being sued
- 1852
- 01:19:55,834 --> 01:19:58,882
- for $100 million.
- [crowd gasps]
- 1853
- 01:19:58,882 --> 01:20:00,427
- When asked how they're
- gonna raise the money,
- 1854
- 01:20:00,427 --> 01:20:02,388
- they said, "How about
- a musical festival?"
- 1855
- 01:20:02,388 --> 01:20:04,810
- [laughter]
- 1856
- 01:20:04,810 --> 01:20:08,400
- MICHAEL: I wish it was a joke,
- but after the Bahamas,
- 1857
- 01:20:08,400 --> 01:20:12,493
- we went to Los Angeles.
- Ja Rule was there.
- 1858
- 01:20:12,493 --> 01:20:14,580
- Billy was there.
- 1859
- 01:20:20,258 --> 01:20:23,723
- MICHAEL: We're talking just
- a month after the disaster,
- 1860
- 01:20:23,723 --> 01:20:27,898
- Fyre Festival 2018
- was the goal.
- 1861
- 01:20:27,898 --> 01:20:29,735
- CALVIN: When the thing
- went belly up,
- 1862
- 01:20:29,735 --> 01:20:34,537
- Ja Rule took absolutely
- no accountability.
- 1863
- 01:20:34,537 --> 01:20:36,833
- That's amazing to me.
- 1864
- 01:20:36,833 --> 01:20:40,882
- But even though Ja Rule wasn't
- sweating any repercussions,
- 1865
- 01:20:40,882 --> 01:20:43,638
- Billy was gonna have
- to deal with the FBI.
- 1866
- 01:20:51,361 --> 01:20:54,702
- REPORTER: William McFarland,
- who created and founded
- 1867
- 01:20:54,702 --> 01:20:56,622
- Fyre Festival
- with rapper Ja Rule,
- 1868
- 01:20:56,622 --> 01:20:58,960
- arrested and charged
- with wire fraud
- 1869
- 01:20:58,960 --> 01:21:02,300
- by the FBI, Friday.
- 1870
- 01:21:02,300 --> 01:21:05,056
- †The legal situation does not
- involve any aspects
- 1871
- 01:21:05,056 --> 01:21:07,226
- of the execution
- of the festival.
- 1872
- 01:21:07,226 --> 01:21:09,147
- BILLY: So financial dealings
- have nothing to do
- 1873
- 01:21:09,147 --> 01:21:10,776
- with the execution
- of the festival?
- 1874
- 01:21:10,776 --> 01:21:12,654
- †Any payments made to vendors,
- team members,
- 1875
- 01:21:12,654 --> 01:21:15,702
- are not in question in terms of
- any legal proceedings, no.
- 1876
- 01:21:15,702 --> 01:21:17,831
- [dark music]
- 1877
- 01:21:17,831 --> 01:21:19,960
- ♪ ♪
- 1878
- 01:21:19,960 --> 01:21:22,006
- JAKE: I'm looking right now
- at all of the details
- 1879
- 01:21:22,006 --> 01:21:25,722
- that they're laid out
- in their case against him.
- 1880
- 01:21:25,722 --> 01:21:28,394
- "McFarland's fraud was
- a deliberate plan
- 1881
- 01:21:28,394 --> 01:21:32,193
- to deceive, motivated
- by unadulterated greed."
- 1882
- 01:21:32,193 --> 01:21:33,905
- OVERLAPPING VOICES: "Whenever
- he needed more money,
- 1883
- 01:21:33,905 --> 01:21:36,326
- he lied to investors."
- "Lack of remorse."
- 1884
- 01:21:36,326 --> 01:21:37,538
- COMPUTERIZED VOICE:
- "He did not feel
- 1885
- 01:21:37,538 --> 01:21:39,332
- that what he was
- doing was wrong."
- 1886
- 01:21:39,332 --> 01:21:42,088
- JAKE: "Throughout this scheme,
- McFarland causes losses
- 1887
- 01:21:42,088 --> 01:21:45,554
- "to at least 80
- victimâ€Âinvestors
- 1888
- 01:21:45,554 --> 01:21:49,269
- totaling more
- than $24 million."
- 1889
- 01:21:49,269 --> 01:21:54,279
- †We didn't break the law in
- the execution of the festival.
- 1890
- 01:21:54,279 --> 01:21:56,909
- MAN: What were you
- indicted for?
- 1891
- 01:21:56,909 --> 01:21:58,830
- †Uh, I'm not gonna comment
- on any criminalâ€Ââ€Â
- 1892
- 01:21:58,830 --> 01:22:01,586
- ongoing criminal proceedings.
- MAN: But you were indicted.
- 1893
- 01:22:01,586 --> 01:22:03,380
- †I'm notâ€Ââ€ÂI cannot comment
- on any ongoing
- 1894
- 01:22:03,380 --> 01:22:05,510
- criminal proceedings.
- MAN: But there are
- 1895
- 01:22:05,510 --> 01:22:08,056
- ongoing criminal proceedings?
- †[stammers]
- 1896
- 01:22:08,056 --> 01:22:10,770
- I can't comment on this.
- 1897
- 01:22:10,770 --> 01:22:12,900
- BEN: He can come on
- he didn't do it,
- 1898
- 01:22:12,900 --> 01:22:15,196
- but he's signing documents
- that say he did it.
- 1899
- 01:22:15,196 --> 01:22:18,285
- And ultimately,
- you had a guilty plea.
- 1900
- 01:22:18,285 --> 01:22:21,959
- ♪ ♪
- 1901
- 01:22:21,959 --> 01:22:24,882
- MAN: Has anyone ever called you
- a compulsive liar?
- 1902
- 01:22:24,882 --> 01:22:27,804
- †I've been called a lot of
- things since the festival.
- 1903
- 01:22:27,804 --> 01:22:32,230
- MAN: So you don't believe you
- have a compulsion
- 1904
- 01:22:32,230 --> 01:22:35,110
- to augment the truth?
- 1905
- 01:22:35,110 --> 01:22:37,406
- †It's like you're calling me
- all these crazy things, man.
- 1906
- 01:22:37,406 --> 01:22:39,285
- Like, show me one thing
- that I said that's not true.
- 1907
- 01:22:39,285 --> 01:22:41,248
- MAN: So you're not a liar?
- †Show me one thing I said
- 1908
- 01:22:41,248 --> 01:22:44,337
- that's not true today.
- I'm ready.
- 1909
- 01:22:44,337 --> 01:22:46,717
- I'll sit here and wait.
- 1910
- 01:22:46,717 --> 01:22:50,684
- MAN: Okay. Magnises.
- 1911
- 01:22:50,684 --> 01:22:52,980
- †We had over 10,000
- paying customers.
- 1912
- 01:22:52,980 --> 01:22:55,735
- †We have 100,000 customers
- around the globe.
- 1913
- 01:22:55,735 --> 01:22:57,698
- COMPUTERIZED VOICE: According
- to former Magnises employees,
- 1914
- 01:22:57,698 --> 01:23:01,371
- Magnises never had more than
- 4,000 to 5,000 members.
- 1915
- 01:23:01,371 --> 01:23:03,918
- †We spent $30 million
- to execute this festival.
- 1916
- 01:23:03,918 --> 01:23:05,797
- COMPUTERIZED VOICE:
- But that was not true.
- 1917
- 01:23:05,797 --> 01:23:07,593
- †We had 250 houses rented.
- COMPUTERIZED VOICE: Not true.
- 1918
- 01:23:07,593 --> 01:23:10,264
- †I spent $5.9 million
- of my own money.
- 1919
- 01:23:10,264 --> 01:23:12,018
- COMPUTERIZED VOICE: Not true.
- He lied to investors.
- 1920
- 01:23:12,018 --> 01:23:13,896
- Defrauded.
- Repeated misrepresentations.
- 1921
- 01:23:13,896 --> 01:23:15,399
- Deliberate plan to deceive.
- 1922
- 01:23:15,399 --> 01:23:16,777
- Fictitious and forged
- documents.
- 1923
- 01:23:16,777 --> 01:23:18,448
- A sham.
- Betrayed and deceived
- 1924
- 01:23:18,448 --> 01:23:20,785
- his investors, customers,
- and employees.
- 1925
- 01:23:20,785 --> 01:23:24,417
- ♪ ♪
- 1926
- 01:23:24,417 --> 01:23:26,046
- †Okay, I'm gonna take
- a tenâ€Âminute break
- 1927
- 01:23:26,046 --> 01:23:28,509
- and I'll come back
- and we'll continue.
- 1928
- 01:23:28,509 --> 01:23:30,472
- MAN: Uh, what's
- the tenâ€Âminute break for?
- 1929
- 01:23:30,472 --> 01:23:32,601
- To come up with that, or...
- †No, I'm taking
- 1930
- 01:23:32,601 --> 01:23:36,817
- a personal break.
- MAN: Okay.
- 1931
- 01:23:36,817 --> 01:23:39,155
- MARIA: I would not trust
- a single word
- 1932
- 01:23:39,155 --> 01:23:41,326
- that Billy says
- about his own motivations
- 1933
- 01:23:41,326 --> 01:23:42,954
- or about himself
- 1934
- 01:23:42,954 --> 01:23:47,213
- simply because Billy McFarland
- is a con artist.
- 1935
- 01:23:47,213 --> 01:23:49,050
- I know all about them.
- 1936
- 01:23:49,050 --> 01:23:51,806
- You know, I've researched them.
- I know they ruin lives.
- 1937
- 01:23:51,806 --> 01:23:54,352
- They look into your soul,
- they see what you're missing,
- 1938
- 01:23:54,352 --> 01:23:56,691
- and they take advantage
- of that.
- 1939
- 01:23:56,691 --> 01:23:59,195
- The most surprising thing
- about con artists
- 1940
- 01:23:59,195 --> 01:24:04,163
- is just how normal
- and likable they are.
- 1941
- 01:24:04,163 --> 01:24:08,589
- For a con artist, deception
- is a constant practice.
- 1942
- 01:24:08,589 --> 01:24:10,677
- A con artist would pass
- a lie detector test
- 1943
- 01:24:10,677 --> 01:24:14,852
- with flying colors because
- there's no tension there.
- 1944
- 01:24:14,852 --> 01:24:17,566
- To them, this is the truth.
- 1945
- 01:24:17,566 --> 01:24:19,110
- They aren't delusional.
- 1946
- 01:24:19,110 --> 01:24:21,114
- They're doing it
- very deliberately.
- 1947
- 01:24:21,114 --> 01:24:24,747
- Billy has been running
- small cons his entire life.
- 1948
- 01:24:24,747 --> 01:24:26,667
- ♪ ♪
- 1949
- 01:24:26,667 --> 01:24:29,423
- We're gonna be hearing
- from him again.
- 1950
- 01:24:29,423 --> 01:24:31,677
- All con artists end up
- going back to conning.
- 1951
- 01:24:31,677 --> 01:24:34,600
- ♪ ♪
- 1952
- 01:24:34,600 --> 01:24:36,896
- ANASTASIA: When me
- and Billy met,
- 1953
- 01:24:36,896 --> 01:24:40,779
- it was destiny for us, I guess.
- 1954
- 01:24:40,779 --> 01:24:44,995
- It's like, it's love.
- I don't know how to explain it.
- 1955
- 01:24:44,995 --> 01:24:46,791
- Babe, what are you doing here?
- 1956
- 01:24:46,791 --> 01:24:49,003
- †We're going on a little ride.
- Come on. Get in.
- 1957
- 01:24:49,003 --> 01:24:51,299
- †I never had this kind of
- connection,
- 1958
- 01:24:51,299 --> 01:24:55,600
- but he drew my attention
- just with his energy.
- 1959
- 01:24:55,600 --> 01:24:59,148
- MARIA: Con artists like Billy
- are really personable.
- 1960
- 01:24:59,148 --> 01:25:03,616
- They're fun and have just
- extraordinary charm.
- 1961
- 01:25:03,616 --> 01:25:07,874
- †But then I Googled him.
- 1962
- 01:25:07,874 --> 01:25:11,297
- That's when I realized that he
- was connected to Fyre Festival.
- 1963
- 01:25:11,297 --> 01:25:14,095
- My mind, maybe my head,
- was saying one thing,
- 1964
- 01:25:14,095 --> 01:25:16,642
- but then I had
- these feelings in my heart.
- 1965
- 01:25:16,642 --> 01:25:19,272
- MARIA: These are people
- who get people to trust them,
- 1966
- 01:25:19,272 --> 01:25:22,319
- and they have an explanation
- for everything.
- 1967
- 01:25:22,319 --> 01:25:25,075
- ANASTASIA: He kind of
- explained me that, you know,
- 1968
- 01:25:25,075 --> 01:25:29,501
- at some point, I guess he lost
- the sense of reality.
- 1969
- 01:25:29,501 --> 01:25:30,879
- REPORTER: The biggest event
- in decades.
- 1970
- 01:25:30,879 --> 01:25:32,006
- REPORTER: Tech mogul,
- Billy McFarland.
- 1971
- 01:25:32,006 --> 01:25:33,049
- REPORTER: The next Zuckerberg.
- 1972
- 01:25:33,049 --> 01:25:35,972
- [overlapping voices]
- 1973
- 01:25:35,972 --> 01:25:39,145
- †[exhales, laughs] Sorry.
- 1974
- 01:25:39,145 --> 01:25:41,650
- I think I'm shaking a little,
- and that's getting...
- 1975
- 01:25:41,650 --> 01:25:43,069
- [laughs]
- 1976
- 01:25:43,069 --> 01:25:45,491
- [eerie music]
- 1977
- 01:25:45,491 --> 01:25:47,244
- ♪ ♪
- 1978
- 01:25:47,244 --> 01:25:50,000
- CALVIN: After the festival,
- Billy was out on bail
- 1979
- 01:25:50,000 --> 01:25:53,925
- and still living a
- largerâ€Âthanâ€Âlife lifestyle.
- 1980
- 01:25:53,925 --> 01:25:55,720
- I remember walking past Billy,
- 1981
- 01:25:55,720 --> 01:25:56,847
- and one of my friends
- was with him.
- 1982
- 01:25:56,847 --> 01:25:58,643
- I said, "What are you doing?"
- 1983
- 01:25:58,643 --> 01:26:01,314
- He's like, "I don't know.
- Billy's got a table up at PHâ€ÂD.
- 1984
- 01:26:01,314 --> 01:26:02,984
- And I'm thinking, like,
- "Wait a minute."
- 1985
- 01:26:02,984 --> 01:26:04,905
- You got this guy
- 1986
- 01:26:04,905 --> 01:26:08,036
- that's still out buying bottles
- in nightclubs in Manhattan,
- 1987
- 01:26:08,036 --> 01:26:11,669
- and he had his girlfriend
- pay cash
- 1988
- 01:26:11,669 --> 01:26:13,213
- to rent a Hamptons house.
- 1989
- 01:26:13,213 --> 01:26:15,258
- They're hanging out in
- Amagansett together.
- 1990
- 01:26:15,258 --> 01:26:17,346
- How is he affording to do this?
- 1991
- 01:26:17,346 --> 01:26:19,058
- ♪ ♪
- 1992
- 01:26:19,058 --> 01:26:22,022
- SETH: Around the middle
- of December of 2017,
- 1993
- 01:26:22,022 --> 01:26:26,072
- I got an email from
- NYC VIP Access.
- 1994
- 01:26:26,072 --> 01:26:28,284
- It was a guy named
- Frank Tribble
- 1995
- 01:26:28,284 --> 01:26:30,540
- offering Masters tickets.
- 1996
- 01:26:30,540 --> 01:26:32,919
- My friends who had attended
- Fyre Festival
- 1997
- 01:26:32,919 --> 01:26:35,758
- got the same email,
- and I kept getting them.
- 1998
- 01:26:35,758 --> 01:26:39,390
- I got the Victoria's Secret,
- the Met Gala, Burning Man.
- 1999
- 01:26:39,390 --> 01:26:42,062
- CALVIN: You can't buy tickets
- to the Met Gala.
- 2000
- 01:26:42,062 --> 01:26:43,816
- I'd try.
- 2001
- 01:26:43,816 --> 01:26:45,820
- You can't buy tickets to
- Victoria's Secret fashion show.
- 2002
- 01:26:45,820 --> 01:26:47,699
- I've really tried that.
- 2003
- 01:26:47,699 --> 01:26:50,705
- These are things
- that don't exist.
- 2004
- 01:26:50,705 --> 01:26:52,542
- POLLY: If you've never been
- out on bail before,
- 2005
- 01:26:52,542 --> 01:26:54,253
- that's the time in your life
- 2006
- 01:26:54,253 --> 01:26:57,510
- where you wanna be committing
- the least number crimes.
- 2007
- 01:26:57,510 --> 01:27:00,558
- SETH: I assumed Billy had
- sold this email list.
- 2008
- 01:27:00,558 --> 01:27:02,562
- Like, I didn't actually think
- Billy was behind the scenes,
- 2009
- 01:27:02,562 --> 01:27:04,941
- doing any of this.
- 2010
- 01:27:04,941 --> 01:27:06,570
- So he was?
- 2011
- 01:27:15,253 --> 01:27:17,299
- †[laughing]
- 2012
- 01:27:17,299 --> 01:27:20,723
- [both laughing]
- 2013
- 01:27:20,723 --> 01:27:23,896
- You cannot make this up.
- 2014
- 01:27:23,896 --> 01:27:28,614
- †As it turns out,
- NYC VIP was Billy.
- 2015
- 01:27:28,614 --> 01:27:31,829
- JAKE: He's out on bail for
- fraud and then he comes up
- 2016
- 01:27:31,829 --> 01:27:34,166
- with another company
- to defraud people.
- 2017
- 01:27:34,166 --> 01:27:36,379
- This is really a return
- to Billy's roots
- 2018
- 01:27:36,379 --> 01:27:38,383
- when he built Magnisesâ€Ââ€Â
- it's promise people
- 2019
- 01:27:38,383 --> 01:27:42,349
- exclusive access to events,
- and here he is doing it again.
- 2020
- 01:27:42,349 --> 01:27:45,021
- BEN: He's like a gambler
- or an alcoholic,
- 2021
- 01:27:45,021 --> 01:27:48,654
- where somebody keeps going back
- to that negative behavior.
- 2022
- 01:27:48,654 --> 01:27:50,825
- He keeps going back
- to scamming people
- 2023
- 01:27:50,825 --> 01:27:54,331
- like it's injected in his DNA.
- 2024
- 01:27:54,331 --> 01:27:59,885
- JIA: In the millennial era,
- scamming is the air we breathe.
- 2025
- 01:27:59,885 --> 01:28:01,972
- BEN: There is, essentially,
- a Fyre Festival going on
- 2026
- 01:28:01,972 --> 01:28:04,811
- every day in the West Wing.
- 2027
- 01:28:04,811 --> 01:28:08,611
- †It's basically the
- Fyre Festival of budgets.
- 2028
- 01:28:08,611 --> 01:28:11,032
- JIA: One of the safest ways
- of making money in America
- 2029
- 01:28:11,032 --> 01:28:13,454
- is to get really good
- at exploiting people
- 2030
- 01:28:13,454 --> 01:28:15,165
- and to treat everyone
- like a mark.
- 2031
- 01:28:15,165 --> 01:28:19,424
- You've got Anna Delvey,
- the soâ€Âcalled Soho Grifter
- 2032
- 01:28:19,424 --> 01:28:20,885
- and Elizabeth Holmes,
- 2033
- 01:28:20,885 --> 01:28:23,097
- the CEO and founder
- of Theranos.
- 2034
- 01:28:23,097 --> 01:28:24,851
- And then you have
- Billy McFarland,
- 2035
- 01:28:24,851 --> 01:28:28,358
- and all three of them coasted
- for a really long time.
- 2036
- 01:28:28,358 --> 01:28:31,615
- †I think Billy truly believed
- that he'd get away with it.
- 2037
- 01:28:31,615 --> 01:28:33,661
- POLLY: But the rules
- still exist,
- 2038
- 01:28:33,661 --> 01:28:36,082
- and he ended up facing
- three more charges
- 2039
- 01:28:36,082 --> 01:28:37,961
- for wire fraud, bank fraud,
- 2040
- 01:28:37,961 --> 01:28:40,549
- and giving false statements
- to a law enforcement officer.
- 2041
- 01:28:40,549 --> 01:28:47,104
- ♪ ♪
- 2042
- 01:28:47,730 --> 01:28:50,861
- MAN: What does going to prison
- look like for you?
- 2043
- 01:28:50,861 --> 01:28:54,953
- ♪ ♪
- 2044
- 01:28:54,953 --> 01:28:56,163
- †I don't know.
- 2045
- 01:28:56,163 --> 01:28:58,084
- I haven't really
- gotten there yet.
- 2046
- 01:28:58,084 --> 01:29:04,848
- ♪ ♪
- 2047
- 01:29:05,265 --> 01:29:08,439
- BEN: Billy had his bail
- revoked, and he was sent
- 2048
- 01:29:08,439 --> 01:29:11,360
- to jail to basically start
- his prison sentence.
- 2049
- 01:29:13,532 --> 01:29:15,870
- COMPUTERIZED VOICE:
- "The United States of America
- 2050
- 01:29:15,870 --> 01:29:18,333
- versus William McFarland,
- defendant."
- 2051
- 01:29:18,333 --> 01:29:20,378
- COMPUTERIZED VOICE:
- "It is my conclusion
- 2052
- 01:29:20,378 --> 01:29:22,467
- "that the defendant
- is a serial fraudster
- 2053
- 01:29:22,467 --> 01:29:25,013
- "and that toâ€Âdate,
- his fraud, like a circle,
- 2054
- 01:29:25,013 --> 01:29:26,516
- "has no end.
- 2055
- 01:29:26,516 --> 01:29:28,437
- "Your choices, and yours
- alone,
- 2056
- 01:29:28,437 --> 01:29:30,106
- "are the reasons
- for your sentence,
- 2057
- 01:29:30,106 --> 01:29:32,152
- "which is six years in custody.
- 2058
- 01:29:32,152 --> 01:29:34,406
- "There is an agreedâ€Âupon
- forfeiture
- 2059
- 01:29:34,406 --> 01:29:41,420
- of $26,191,306.28."
- 2060
- 01:29:41,420 --> 01:29:44,719
- JAKE: Billy has defrauded
- people. He's harmed people.
- 2061
- 01:29:44,719 --> 01:29:46,473
- People have really suffered.
- 2062
- 01:29:46,473 --> 01:29:48,477
- But is six years in prison
- 2063
- 01:29:48,477 --> 01:29:50,815
- actually enough
- for what he's done?
- 2064
- 01:29:57,954 --> 01:30:02,295
- †Um...
- 2065
- 01:30:02,295 --> 01:30:04,007
- everyone.
- 2066
- 01:30:04,007 --> 01:30:06,596
- [The Foundations'
- "Build Me Up Buttercup"]
- 2067
- 01:30:06,596 --> 01:30:08,349
- CALVIN: We're living
- in an era in which
- 2068
- 01:30:08,349 --> 01:30:12,190
- you can convince millions
- of people to do anything
- 2069
- 01:30:12,190 --> 01:30:14,988
- just on marketing alone.
- 2070
- 01:30:14,988 --> 01:30:18,369
- But in its wake,
- it leaves real harm.
- 2071
- 01:30:25,008 --> 01:30:26,428
- †♪ Let me down ♪
- DIALLO: They skated out
- 2072
- 01:30:26,428 --> 01:30:28,849
- of town and left
- everybody high and dry.
- 2073
- 01:30:28,849 --> 01:30:30,268
- Can I curse on here?
- MAN: Yeah, go ahead.
- 2074
- 01:30:30,268 --> 01:30:32,105
- †He's a fuckâ€Âshot.
- He's a fuckâ€Âshot.
- 2075
- 01:30:32,105 --> 01:30:33,567
- It was a scam
- from the beginning.
- 2076
- 01:30:33,567 --> 01:30:35,529
- †♪ I need you,
- I need you ♪
- 2077
- 01:30:35,529 --> 01:30:37,658
- BEN: Don't just focus on Billy.
- There are people who helped
- 2078
- 01:30:37,658 --> 01:30:40,998
- Billy commit fraud so that
- they could make their money.
- 2079
- 01:30:40,998 --> 01:30:42,877
- MAN: Yeah, that's
- Billy and Grant,
- 2080
- 01:30:42,877 --> 01:30:44,839
- our new EMTs.
- 2081
- 01:30:44,839 --> 01:30:47,970
- EMILY: I heard that Grant
- is now an EMT.
- 2082
- 01:30:47,970 --> 01:30:49,849
- His favorite word was "urgent."
- 2083
- 01:30:49,849 --> 01:30:52,187
- I had allâ€Âcaps "urgent"
- in my subject lines
- 2084
- 01:30:52,187 --> 01:30:54,943
- all the time, so now he
- actually has urgent situations.
- 2085
- 01:31:03,634 --> 01:31:05,129
- CALVIN: I have
- very deep concerns
- 2086
- 01:31:05,129 --> 01:31:07,092
- around the marketing
- companiesâ€Ââ€Â
- 2087
- 01:31:07,092 --> 01:31:09,973
- anyone who kept promoting this
- up until the very end.
- 2088
- 01:31:15,776 --> 01:31:17,613
- COMPUTERIZED VOICE: "All
- actions taken by Jerry Media
- 2089
- 01:31:17,613 --> 01:31:20,494
- were done at the direction of
- the Fyre Festival."
- 2090
- 01:31:20,494 --> 01:31:24,502
- "Like the ticket holders,"
- "we were also misled."
- 2091
- 01:31:24,502 --> 01:31:26,464
- "Per our previous
- correspondence,
- 2092
- 01:31:26,464 --> 01:31:30,138
- Oren Aks
- has misrepresented himself."
- 2093
- 01:31:30,138 --> 01:31:33,562
- †Okay. [chuckles]
- Well, fuck you guys.
- 2094
- 01:31:33,562 --> 01:31:34,602
- [air horn blares]
- 2095
- 01:31:40,421 --> 01:31:41,703
- OREN: I honestly can't believe
- 2096
- 01:31:41,703 --> 01:31:45,001
- this documentaryâ€Ââ€Â
- there's two of them.
- 2097
- 01:31:53,100 --> 01:31:56,566
- BEN: You kind of hope
- they do the right thing.
- 2098
- 01:31:56,566 --> 01:31:58,027
- You can hope all you want.
- 2099
- 01:31:58,027 --> 01:31:59,614
- More frequently,
- you have to sue.
- 2100
- 01:32:06,836 --> 01:32:08,840
- †Motherfuckin' Ja Rule's
- in the building!
- 2101
- 01:32:13,224 --> 01:32:15,061
- JAKE: So Ja Rule decides to go
- 2102
- 01:32:15,061 --> 01:32:16,731
- on this show called
- "Drink Champs."
- 2103
- 01:32:16,731 --> 01:32:19,904
- There's not a better place
- to brag about your crimes
- 2104
- 01:32:19,904 --> 01:32:22,033
- than a show where a bunch
- of guys get drunk.
- 2105
- 01:32:22,033 --> 01:32:23,829
- †People didn't really know
- I had anything to do
- 2106
- 01:32:23,829 --> 01:32:25,958
- with the festival until...
- MAN: Until it went wrong.
- 2107
- 01:32:25,958 --> 01:32:27,545
- That's the crazy part.
- †Until it went wrong.
- 2108
- 01:32:27,545 --> 01:32:29,674
- "Ja Rule's Festival!"
- MAN: And then theyâ€Ââ€Âyeah.
- 2109
- 01:32:29,674 --> 01:32:31,009
- They're trying to blame
- somebody.
- 2110
- 01:32:31,009 --> 01:32:32,387
- [laughter]
- †♪ Ooh ♪
- 2111
- 01:32:32,387 --> 01:32:33,890
- CALVIN: By the end of it,
- he's like,
- 2112
- 01:32:33,890 --> 01:32:35,894
- "Yeah, it was my vision
- the whole time."
- 2113
- 01:32:35,894 --> 01:32:40,069
- †It was my idea,
- my vision, to do this.
- 2114
- 01:32:40,069 --> 01:32:43,075
- †This whole thing isâ€Ââ€Â
- is an incredible story
- 2115
- 01:32:43,075 --> 01:32:45,539
- because now he's out trying
- to do it all again
- 2116
- 01:32:45,539 --> 01:32:48,795
- with Iconn, which is just
- a reâ€Âbranded Fyre app.
- 2117
- 01:32:48,795 --> 01:32:50,549
- JIA: It's just an app where you
- can book rich people
- 2118
- 01:32:50,549 --> 01:32:54,097
- to, you know, play your
- birthday party or whatever.
- 2119
- 01:32:54,097 --> 01:32:57,730
- †It's very different,
- but itâ€Ââ€Âit's similar.
- 2120
- 01:33:03,295 --> 01:33:04,999
- †♪ I need you ♪
- 2121
- 01:33:08,794 --> 01:33:12,383
- ANASTASIA: Jail sucks.
- Don't go to jail.
- 2122
- 01:33:12,383 --> 01:33:14,806
- He says in the letter,
- like, uh...
- 2123
- 01:33:14,806 --> 01:33:17,143
- [laughing] "I took
- a shower in the sink."
- 2124
- 01:33:17,143 --> 01:33:20,233
- It's also, like,
- "Billy loves Anastasia."
- 2125
- 01:33:20,233 --> 01:33:22,738
- Like, the drawings.
- You see?
- 2126
- 01:33:26,286 --> 01:33:28,583
- JAKE: Billy is now teaching
- a class
- 2127
- 01:33:28,583 --> 01:33:32,215
- on music entrepreneurship
- to fellow inmates.
- 2128
- 01:33:32,215 --> 01:33:34,135
- In a certain sense, I mean,
- I guess you have to admire
- 2129
- 01:33:34,135 --> 01:33:35,806
- the hustle.
- 2130
- 01:33:35,806 --> 01:33:39,312
- †This is him calling.
- Can I answer really quick?
- 2131
- 01:33:39,312 --> 01:33:43,572
- OPERATOR: This call is from...
- BILLY: William McFarland.
- 2132
- 01:33:43,572 --> 01:33:46,243
- †Hey, babe.
- †♪ Ooh ♪
- 2133
- 01:33:46,243 --> 01:33:49,876
- BEN: It's a great time
- to be a con man in America.
- 2134
- 01:33:49,876 --> 01:33:52,631
- †♪ Why do you build me up ♪
- †♪ Build me up ♪
- 2135
- 01:33:52,631 --> 01:33:55,554
- †♪ Buttercup, ba... ♪
- [music dies]
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