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Fyre Festival: GoFundMe page raises £100,000 for unpaid caterer

A GoFundMe page to support a Bahamian resort owner who was not paid for catering the doomed Fyre Festival has raised more than £100,000 ($130,000).

Maryann Rolle, who runs the Exuma Point Resort, says she used $50,000 (£38,000) of her own money to pay other staff after the festival turned into a disaster.

A crowdfunding page she set up on January 14 has had nearly 4,000 donations after her story was featured in Netflix's new documentary about the event.

The emotional segment of the film showed Mrs Rolle almost in tears as she described her experience dealing with the festival.

Tents at Fyre Fest (Tyler Watson)
Tents at Fyre Fest (Tyler Watson)

The failed event was scheduled to take place in the Bahamas in April 2017, but descended into chaos after guests arrived to find nothing was as it had been promised.

The GoFundMe page said: “It has been an unforgettable experience catering to the organizers of Fyre Festival.

“Back in April 2017 I pushed myself to the limit catering no less than a 1000 meals per day.

“Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all prepared and delivered by Exuma Point to Coco Plum Beach and Roker’s Point where the main events were scheduled to take place.

“Organisers would also visit my Exuma Point location to enjoy the prepared meals.

Fyre Festival promoter Billy McFarland was jailed after pleading guilty to wire fraud charges (AP)
Fyre Festival promoter Billy McFarland was jailed after pleading guilty to wire fraud charges (AP)

“Fyre Fest organisers were also checked into all the rooms at Exuma Point Resort.

“As I make this plea it’s hard to believe and embarrassing to admit that I was not paid…I was left in a big hole!

“My life was changed forever, and my credit was ruined by Fyre Fest.

“My only resource today is to appeal for help.

There is an old saying that goes “bad publicity is better than no publicity” and I pray that whoever reads this plea is able to assist.”

The account has been verified by GoFundMe.

Billy McFarland, who organised the festival, was jailed for six years for fraud.

Rapper Ja Rule, who was also involved, claimed he “would never scam or fraud anyone” and said he “never made or got paid one dollar from Fyre.”