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Everyone's Obsessed With Netflix's Fyre Festival Documentary But There's Another On Hulu

Emma Rosemurgey

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Everyone's Obsessed With Netflix's Fyre Festival Documentary But There's Another On Hulu

Featured Image Credit: Netflix

Since its release, everyone has become obsessed with Netflix's Fyre - The Greatest Party That Never Happened, a documentary detailing the unravelling of the luxury music festival in the Bahamas in 2017. But, there's another documentary about the controversial event and it promises even more scandal.

Created by Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule, the failed festival was set to take place on a private island in the Bahamas after it was marketed by influencers as the most luxurious and exclusive event on the market.

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Two different documentaries investigated the disastrous festival, with streaming giant Hulu releasing Fyre Fraud to rival Netflix's original series.

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Hulu's tactical unannounced release was seen by many as another savage move against its rival streaming giant as it launched the very same day Netflix's review embargo lifted, tying the search results together.

Both documentaries explored the event which saw thousands of millennials duped into spending up to £3,000 on tickets to a luxury festival complete with thousands of huge artists, catered food and the world's most glamorous influencers.

However, guests arrived on the remote island to find an unfinished campsite littered with relief tents, no performers and 'high end cuisine' which consisted of plain cheese on bread.

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Both documentaries investigate the failed event while acknowledging the ridiculousness surrounding it, however the rival programmes have resulted in a debate on the ethics behind both films.

A representative for Hulu told Entertainment Weekly their decision to surprise-release the film was because it "was felt that Fyre Fraud provides context that may colour viewers' feelings about Netflix's Fyre."

This specifically relates to Hulu's criticism of its competitor's conflict of interest after it was revealed the Netflix documentary was produced in part by Jerry Media and Matte Projects, the two companies behind the influencer-filled promo video for the festival.

Credit: Netflix
Credit: Netflix
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Hulu's documentary criticises the production companies, claiming they continued to promote the festival despite knowing it wouldn't end up going ahead.

Netflix responded to the claims in a statement which read: "We were happy to work with Jerry Media and a number of others on the film. At no time did they, or any others we worked with, request favorable coverage in our film, which would be against our ethics.

"We stand behind our film, believe it is an unbiased and illuminating look at what happened, and look forward to sharing it with audiences around the world."

In addition, Chris Smith, director of the Netflix film, hit back at Hulu for compensating Billy McFarland, who has been sentenced to six years in prison for fraud, for the exclusive interview in the documentary.

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He told the Ringer when Netflix approached McFarland for an interview, he requested $125,000 (£96,928) because the Hulu team were offering $250,000 (£193,856) for an interview.

Credit: Hulu
Credit: Hulu

Smith added Netflix declined to interview because "after spending time with so many people who had such a negative impact on their lives from their experience on Fyre, it felt particularly wrong to us for him to be benefiting."

When the Ringer contacted Fyre Fraud director Jenner Furst, he admitted paying McFarland but denied the $250,000 figure.

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"I can't tell you the amount," Furst said. "But, what I can tell you is that if you printed [$250,000], that would be a lie. That was not the amount. It was less than that. I don't know why Chris [Smith] is quoting him that way. We both made a film about the same person. We know the person is a compulsive liar."

He then went on to defend the decision to include McFarland's interview to paint the fullest picture of what happened, adding that the team had gone into production to make "not just a comedy, not just 'Look at these millennials who got caught on an island', but a bigger thinkpiece about our generation that was a cautionary tale with deep implications that relate to our political system, to our current president."

Topics: TV News, TV Entertainment, Netflix

Emma Rosemurgey
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