The internet is lending a hand to a restaurant owner from the Bahamas after she revealed she lost her life savings feeding stranded festivalgoers during the 2017 Fyre Festival fiasco.
When fans learned of Maryann Rolle’s heart-wrenching story in Netflix’s new documentary Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, they jumped at the chance to donate money on her GoFundMe page, which she created on January 14. In just over one week, donations have surpassed the $123,000 goal and have reached more than $130,000.
“It has been an unforgettable experience catering to the organizers of Fyre Festival,” Rolle wrote on her crowdfunding campaign. “Back in April 2017, I pushed myself to the limit catering no less than a 1,000 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. Organizers would also visit my Exuma Point location to enjoy the prepared meals.”
“Fyre Fest organizers were also checked into all the rooms at Exuma Point Resort,” she continued. “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.”
She ended her plea with: “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.”
Rapper Ja Rule, the co-founder of the event who’s been claiming he was a victim of the festival too, has even sent his apologies to the caterer. “My heart goes out to this lovely lady…” he wrote on Instagram alongside a picture of her on January 21. “MaryAnne Rolle we’ve never met but I’m devastated that something that was meant to be amazing, turn out to be such a disaster and hurt so many ppl… SORRY to anyone who has been negatively effected by the festival… Rule.”
Hulu also released a documentary, Fyre Fraud, chronicling the disastrous luxury festival. The notorious event was set to take place in Great Exuma island in April and May 2017. But upon arrival, tents were dismantled and festivalgoers were only given sandwiches to eat instead of gourmet meals. As Us previously reported, there have been eight lawsuits filed, with one seeking more than $100 million in damages.
The rapper’s coorganizer Billy McFarland was sentenced to six years in federal prison for wire fraud and using fake documents to attract $26 million from investors.
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