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Home / Entertainment

Bahamas 'bans' Ja Rule from organising any future festivals

By Benedict Brook
news.com.au·
3 May, 2017 05:30 AM3 mins to read

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Ja Rule. Photo / Getty

Ja Rule. Photo / Getty

He's already being torn apart on social media and is the subject of a $100 million lawsuit following the flop of his Fyre festival.

But rapper Ja Rule's woes appear to have worsened with the Bahamas - where Fyre was due to be held - banning him from holding any more events on the islands.

Costing as much as $12,000 to attend and billed as a "cultural moment", the Fyre Festival become just that - but for all the wrong reasons when it was finally cancelled on Friday.

The festival was promoted by a who's who of Instagram influencers and models including Kendall Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski, Hailey Baldwin and Bella Hadid.

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But as flights of rich kids touched down in the Bahamas they found not a luxury pop up resort but something more akin to a refugee camp with row upon row of disaster relief tents.

Promises of top notch food were dashed as frustrated revellers were served bread with processed cheese slices, while the famous bands and beautiful models were nowhere to be seen.

Ja Rule Accepts his Best Male Hip-Hop Artist Award. Photo / Getty
Ja Rule Accepts his Best Male Hip-Hop Artist Award. Photo / Getty

The Bahamas Government was keen on making Fyre work to encourage more cashed up visitors to the nation. But it looks like they got their fingers burned.

According to TMZ, the country will tighten up the rules on any future festivals to protect its international image.

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The website said they were told by sources at the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism that a "stricter vetting system" will be put in place including multiple check-ups on organisers.

Being a private event, the Government said, they couldn't step in earlier until partygoers safety became a concern.

TMZ reported Ja and his business partner Billy McFarland have now been barred from organising any other events, including music festivals.

Furious festival goers labelled Fyre as "Hunger Games but with less luxury".

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Others likened the primitive facilities as "straight up Lord of the Flies."

But in a social media post, insisted "It was NOT A SCAM" as everyone is reporting and he was "heartbroken" at the failure.

His priority was that everyone got off the island "safe". But he added. "This is NOT MY FAULT".

In a statement on the weekend, Fyre said a storm had set back the festival's preparations.

They have said that "all festival goers this year will be refunded in full."

This may not be the last we see of Fyre with talk of a follow-up festival in 2018.

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But perhaps wisely, given the Bahamas ban, organisers say next year's event will be held on a US beach.

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