Billy McFarland may be fresh out of prison — but that hasn’t stopped him from getting back to business. According to reports, the Fyre Festival fraudster is gearing up to launch another festival. This time around, the festival will be virtual.
Billy announced his new venture, PYRT (pronounced 'pirate'), in a recent TikTok video, describing it as a “virtual immersive decentralized reality.” The 31-year old conman said of PYRT, “PYRT is not a festival. It is not an event. And it's definitely not the metaverse.”
Read More: Fyre Fest’s Billy McFarland Reveals Plans To Pay Back $26 Million In Restitution
McFarland went on to share that his upcoming virtual festival will partner with a “small, remote destination” to host a “handful of artists, content creators, entrepreneurs and any of you guys who end up joining the PYRT crew.” The Bahamas based virtual festival will also allow folks from all over the world to join in. “Not only watch what's happening live,” Billy shared. “But they can actually come together with their friends to effect and even own their real world adventures.”
Billy also shared in the video that he is looking for Caribbean nations and “any other adventurous location to partner with the project.” However, his choice of location is one of his “favorite islands in the Exumas” — a section of the Bahamas where he hosted his failed Fyre Festival. Despite Billy’s plans, the Government of the Bahamas says they are not interested in hosting any more of McFarland's events.
“McFarland was the organizer of the Fyre Festival several years ago,” Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper shared. “A notorious charade for which McFarland was convicted and sent to prison in the USA. The Government of the Bahamas will not endorse or approve any event in The Bahamas associated with him.”
Prime Minister Cooper went on to call McFarland a “fugitive” with “everal pending complaints against him by the Royal Bahamas Police Force.” But Billy isn’t phased by the Bahamas Government claims. He says he plans to “right my wrongs” in the Bahamas with his upcoming virtual festival. Share your thoughts below.