Paradise LOST
Big-bucks party a wash
It was “‘ The Hunger Games,’ but with less luxury.”
Ja Rule’s Fyre Festival in the Bahamas became hell on earth for those who shelled out up to $12,000 a ticket thinking they would be showered with swanky perks and “the cultural experience of the decade” — but were instead greeted with disaster-relief-like tents, aggressive security, scant amenities — and no Ja Rule.
Billed as a glamorous VIP music extravaganza, the event was set to run for two consecutive weekends, with the first starting Friday, and had been hyped by celebs ranging from Kendall Jenner to Bella Hadid, with promised performances by such big-name acts as Migos, Tyga and Blink-182.
But they didn’t show up after being warned by organizers — including Ja Rule and his co-promoter, tech mogul Billy McFarland — to stay away on account of the crappy conditions and guests stranded by lack of flights.
“They called all the A-list names and the modeling agencies and told them not to come,” a source told The Post. “They were just like, ‘Oh, come next weekend when all the kinks have been worked out.’ This was before the chaos even started.”
The festival — touted by Vogue magazine as one of the hottest tickets this spring — was “postponed” Friday morning.
Organizers wrote on the event’s Web site that they had “set out to provide a once-in-a-lifetime musical experience on the Islands of the Exumas,” but due to circumstances out of their control, “the physical infrastructure was not in place on time and we are unable to fulfill on that vision safely and enjoyably for our guests.”
Instead of enjoying promised luxuries — including massages, sunrise yoga, guided meditations and coconut cocktails — those arriving on the Instagrammable shores were met Thursday night with chaos, including a lack of security and food, canceled flights and, worst of all, overpriced drinks in plastic cups.
And unverified reports of bar raids, feral dogs and the sound of gunfire emerged on the festival’s subreddit.
Meals included cheese sandwiches stuffed in Styrofoam boxes, while some festival-goers complained of soggy beds.
“As soon as we got to our living arrangements, that’s when everything went downhill,” Mitch Purgason told The Post. “I was supposed to get a two-bedroom villa, and I got a one-bedroom tent, and my bed was soaking wet.
“When I asked where my villa was, they said, ‘ Go find a tent.’ It was a free-for-all. Most unorganized event I have ever been to. Absolutely unbelievable.”
Many guests were still trapped in the Bahamas Friday as flights were canceled due to overcapacity. Organizers and big names, meanwhile, left on their yachts and private jets.
“Everybody who was organizing the festival took off,” the source said. “They abandoned it. They put up a s--tty stage, took millions of dollars and then left everybody stranded . . . I feared for people’s safety, it got so bad.”
Ja Rule offered an apology Fri- day while still denying blame.
“This is NOT MY FAULT,” the rapper, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, said in an online statement. “But I’m taking responsibility I’m deeply sorry to everyone who was inconvenienced by this.”
Ja Rule, who performed in Chicago Thursday night, insisted that the event was “not a scam” and that he would “make it right” and get “everyone” refunded.
“I’m mortified at what those people had to go through,” he told the Bahamas Tribune via the WhatsApp messaging service.
“Me and my partner Billy are very upset. We spent $20 million to make this event special and everyone hates us for it. But I’ll live with that . . . God knows my heart and intentions were in the right place. Now I just want everyone to get home safe and get refunded.”
While the underprivileged masses were forced to suffer on shore, those on yachts fared better — including Nigerian billionaire Kola Aluko, who was there on the Galactica Star, a 213-foot, $50 million vessel.
Jay Z’s managers were also said to be there, along with Alexander von Furstenberg, son of fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg and Prince Egor von Furstenberg. Sources said the scion rented out Jerry Seinfeld’s 138-foot yacht, Moka, and was spotted cruising around with pals.
“The people in yachts were fine,” a source said. “The only thing that they had to deal with was instead of nice boats taking them between their boat and the island, they used life rafts.”
McFarland — a college dropout who founded the credit-card company Magnises and allegedly failed to deliver on its numerous monetary promises — spent
Thursday night partying on a yacht as well, according to one source. But another claimed to have seen him helping guests.
McFarland told The Post Friday night that the event was “the worst day of my life,” while blaming the weather for the mess.
“Thursday morning we were hit by a bad storm,” he explained. “We did our best to fix the water and tents as guests were arriving, which was a tough task for us.”
A number of attendees — who had paid for packages ranging from $2,000 to $250,000 — were not even able to get their flights from Miami to the Exumas, and those who did soon discovered that the luxury accommodations were not at all what had been promised.
Festival-goers had been sent illustrations of their supposedly upscale accommodations, described as “modern, eco-friendly, geodesic domes” — which turned out to be just relief tents used by FEMA and the UN.
“They had a tent village that was a refugee camp, and there was a long, unorganized mess of people, and Billy [McFarland] all of sudden just goes, ‘Run and grab a tent,’ ” said a source on the island. “Everyone was running and security lost control. Tents were being torn down.”
On the festival’s Instagram account, the organizers initially copped to the disaster.
“Things got off to an unexpected start at day one of Fyre Festival,” they wrote in a caption.
“Thank you for bearing with us as we work through the growing pains that every first-year event experiences,” the caption read.
The planners reportedly missed deadlines last month for advanced payments to performers, and sources recently told The Post that some who shelled out for packages had feared Ja Rule and McFarland were in over their heads.
After canceling, the headliner, Blink-182, explained that they, too, were disgusted by the venue.
“We’re not confident that we would have what we need to give you the quality of performances we always give fans,” the rock band tweeted.
Tweets also poured in Thursday and Friday from frustrated festival-goers, with one describing the dire scene as “the Hunger Games, but with less luxury.”
“It is complete & total chaos,” one wrote, after describing how he shelled out “$14 for a dentist spit-cup sized cocktail.”
The Fyre Festival had been scheduled to take place over two weekends, with a second stretch slated for May 5-7. As of Friday, it was unclear whether Weekend Two would go on as planned.
Organizers said the fest’s firstweekend ticket holders would be refunded. For those interested in attending the second weekend, they said, “Revised itinerary information will be shared soon.”