Ja Rule responds to Fyre Festival controversy following documentaries saying he too was scammed
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ja Rule denounced the Fyre Festival he was previously attached to arguing that he too was tricked by its organizer. (Getty Images)
Ja Rule doesn’t want to be associated with the Fyre Fraud.
The 42-year-old performer was an early back of the “luxury” festival that never happened in Great Exuma, Bahamas. He was also featured in the two documentaries that came out last week — "Fyre Fraud" on Hulu and "Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened" on Netflix.
On Sunday, the “Caught Up” rapper took to Twitter to respond to the renewed backlash in the festival that the documentaries brought up.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fyre Festival Founder Billy McFarland Arrested for Fraud
“I too was hustled, scammed, bamboozled, hood winked, lead astray!!!” Ja Rule wrote, pinning the blame on the festival’s creator, Billy McFarland.
He also wrote, “I had an amazing vision to create a festival like NO OTHER!!! I would NEVER SCAM or FRAUD anyone what sense does that make???” adding, “I love how ppl watch a doc and think they have all the answers…”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ja Rule went on to accuse the documentaries of paying off people who scammed the failed festival’s guests.
“Hulu PAID BILLY!!! That money should’ve went to the Bahamian ppl Netflix PAID f**k Jerry the same guys that did the promo for the festival,” he claimed. “I have receipts!!!”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He also addressed his online critics, writing, “Y’all want to be me so bad it’s crazy… kinda sad!!! the crazy s**t is I’m watching the docs in awe myself.”
On Monday, Ja Rule continued posting about the festival, specifically naming Bahamian employee MaryAnne Rolle.
Ja Rule Responds to Fyre Festival Backlash: 'This Is Not My Fault'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“My heart goes out to this lovely lady… MaryAnne Rolle,” he captioned a photo of the woman featured in the documentary. “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.”
When the controversy first came to light in Spring 2017, Ja Rule initially apologized, writing, “We are working right now on getting everyone off the island SAFE that is my immediate concern… I’m heartbroken at this moment my partners and I wanted this to be an amazing event it was NOT A SCAM.”