Fyre Festival, an eternal flame of joy that always seems to reappear, has produced another ember of Schadenfreudean good news: Kendall Jenner is paying $90,000 after she was sued for her role in promoting the fictitious music festival.
Jenner was just one of several celebrities who got in legal trouble for their involvement in the massive scam, which memorably featured angry, sunburned influencers squabbling over mattresses and a Bahamian workforce bilked out of their pay. (Every time someone mocks those “disgusting” cheese sandwiches served to the stranded attendees, I think about how hard someone worked to make them on zero notice and get annoyed anew.)
The blame for the debacle, of course, lies predominantly with Fyre Fest’s deranged architect Billy McFarland, along with a phalanx of accomplices at various levels of culpability. Jenner was paid $275,000 to promote Fyre Festival on Instagram, writing that she was “So hyped to announce my G.O.O.D Music Family as the first headliners for @fyrefestival. Use my promo code KJONFYRE for the next 24 hours to get on the list for the artists and talents afterparty on Fyre Cay.”
According to E!, the lawsuit accused Kendall of “intentionally [leading] certain members of the public and ticket purchasers to believe” that her brother-in-law Kanye West, who founded the G.O.O.D. music label, would perform. “This conduct demonstrates a clear lack of good faith on Jenner’s part,” the suit reads.
McFarland, for his part, used the $26 million he raised for the festival to pay musical acts that never materialized and on the social media campaign that Jenner participated in. He’s since pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges and has been sentenced to six years in prison.