A promise of a party on a private island with bikini-clad models and social media influencers. A social media campaign with orange tiles that made people feel they would get serious FOMO if they didn’t pony up for the outrageously high-priced tickets. A lackluster cheese sandwich posted to Twitter that exposed just how wrong everything went… and two documentaries that shared the real story of how the Fyre Festival was one big nothing.
In January 2019, Hulu and Netflix released competing documentaries about the music festival, Fyre Fraud and FYRE. The man behind it all was Billy McFarland, but rapper Ja Rule played a big part, too. Read on to find out everything that we learned about Ja Rule’s role.
Ja Rule Says He Didn’t Know It Was A Scam
As soon as audiences got a look at FYRE and Fyre Fraud, there was one question that was on everyone’s minds: did Ja Rule know that it was a scam? How much information did he have? What does he think about the two movies?
He tweeted, “I love how ppl [sic] watch a doc and think they have all the answers. I had an amazing vision to create a festival like NO OTHER!!! I would NEVER SCAM or FRAUD anyone what sense does that make???”
He’s All About Damage Control
If the Netflix and Hulu documentaries didn’t feature Ja Rule, then we could say it’s possible that he didn’t know anything about what was going on. But that’s not the case. Instead, he was a big part of Netflix’s FYRE and he even straight-up responded to the failed festival near the film’s conclusion.
Ja Rule says, “Let’s think of how to dig ourselves out of this sh*t, man. We didn’t kill anybody, nobody got hurt. We made a mistake, we’ll get past it.”
That sounds like he knew what was happening, doesn’t it? He called it “a mistake” and wanted to discuss how to do damage control. If he didn’t know the real story, wouldn’t he have said that during that meeting?
Billy McFarland And Ja Rule Were Advised It Wouldn’t Work Out
The most frustrating part of watching the Netflix documentary is learning how many people were aware that proper plans weren’t made to create a festival of this magnitude. Everything from toilets to sleeping arrangements were barely given a thought.
In both the Hulu and Netflix documentaries, it was obvious that Billy McFarland and Ja Rule were advised that the festival wasn’t going to work out. In particular, in FYRE, Marc Weinstein overheard the comment, “At least they won’t get away with it now,” after the skies opened and it rained like crazy the night before guests were going to arrive.
Since we literally watch people say that it was clear from the early stages of planning that things were a disaster, it’s hard to believe that Ja Rule truly had no idea that it was a scam and a fraud.
Ja Rule Says He Didn’t Make Any Money From It
According to Rolling Stone, Ja Rule says that he didn’t make any money from the festival. On January 20 2019, he tweeted, “I NEVER MADE OR GOT PAID ONE DOLLAR FROM FYRE… BUT EVERYONE ELSE DID!!!”
Of course, it’s impossible for us to know if Ja Rule was paid for his work on Fyre Festival or if, like he says, he wasn’t given anything at all. All we know is that there was a lot of money raised for this festival and, as the FYRE documentary made clear, the more money that was spent, the deeper into a hole everyone got.
Ja Rule Called It “Scam Fyre” In The Netflix Doc
When it was clear to everyone on the Fyre Festival team that things had already gone super far downhill, Ja Rule literally used the word “scam.” In the same meeting when he says that it was a “mistake” that they could get themselves out of, he also said, “Right now, yes, we are the f*cking laughing stock of everything. We are ‘Scam Fyre.’” He continued, “We gotta dwell on how we can make it better in the future.”
It’s hard to imagine that he didn’t know what was happening when we watch FYRE and listen to him say these words.
He’s Going To Tell Everyone What Happened
Although FYRE featured interviews with major players like Marc Weinstein and Andy King and Fyre Fraud interviewed Billy himself, we want to hear about it straight from Ja Rule.
Back in January, Ja Rule tweeted, “Haha nice try homie you ain’t getting the goods over Twitter… but I will tell my truth real soon… AND I HAVE RECEIPTS!!!”
It sounds like Ja Rule is going to tell everyone what happened at some point, and we’re going to be listening with both ears wide open. It’s anyone’s guess what he will say happened or how he’ll get this information out, but he sounds determined to talk about it.
The Hulu Doc Has Proof That He Asked If It Would Really Take Place
There is a moment in the Hulu documentary that proves Ja Rule had his doubts about the Fyre Festival’s success. Ja Rule talked to a man named Delroy Jackson who lived in the Bahamas and was working as a “fixer” for them. Delroy said, “He pulled me aside like, ‘Yo, Delroy. Just be straight up dawg. Is this festival gonna happen. What’d you think? All I did was scratch my head. I was just like, ‘Ja, it’s really not gonna happen.’”
The fact that Ja Rule asked if the festival would really take place seems like all that we need to hear in order to know that he knew about it beforehand.
Ja Rule Just Wanted To Have A Good Time
In the Netflix doc, Ja Rule is shown having a good time, partying with Billy and the others. It seems like throughout the whole planning process leading up to the Fyre Festival, Ja Rule wasn’t paying attention to any of the negative comments people said or problems that were coming up.
It seems like Ja Rule didn’t want the Fyre Festival to be anything but a positive experience, and that’s the lens through which he chose to view this experience.
Even after watching two equally fascinating documentaries about this festival (or non-festival as the case might be), we’re still in awe of this crazy true story.
