Fyre Festival lawsuit settled with Blink-182 and Major Lazer

A lawsuit between Fyre Festival organisers, Blink-182 and Major Lazer has been settled.

According to Billboard, Gregory Messer, the trustee overseeing the $26 million (£27.7 million) bankruptcy of jailed organiser Billy McFarland’s Fyre Media, has collected $360,000 (£277,880) of the $2.8 million (£2.2 million) paid to artists that were set to play at the disastrous 2017 festival.

It comes after Messer filed 14 lawsuits last December in a bid to reclaim money on the $14.4 million (£10.9 million) that Fyre Media and McFarland paid to various parties when organising the festival.

Creative Artist Agency received $585,000 (£451,550) from Fyre Festival, $500,000 (£424,540) of which was paid to Blink-182, and have returned $135,000 (£104,200) in total.

Paradigm artists, including Major Lazer and Disclosure, received $1.5 million (£1.16 million) from Fyre Festival and have returned $225,000 (£173,670).

Of the $730,000 (£563,480) paid to Nue Agency, $100,000 (£77,190) has been returned, including $50,000 (£38,590) from Pusha T, $25,000 (£19,300) from Desiigner and $20,000 (£15,440) from Tyga.

Similar legal action was launched back in August 2019 by another Fyre Festival trustee, who demanded that Blink-182, influencers Kendall Jenner and Emily Ratajkowski return the fees they were paid for playing or promoting the festival.

Meanwhile, US Marshals recently auctioned off Fyre Festival merchandise in a bid to reimburse victims who lost out through the disastrous event.

The festival was co-founded by Ja Rule and the now-incarcerated Billy McFarland (who was sentenced to six years in prison for fraud in 2018), made headlines across the world after its inaugural event in the Bahamas was cancelled following a series of serious organisational and logistical problems.

Earlier this year, McFarland reportedly requested an early release from his six-year prison sentence due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, according to TMZ.

His lawyers argued that McFarland’s pre-existing health conditions – including asthma, allergies and heart issues – would prove to be severe health risks if he contracted COVID-19 in prison.

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