One of many Bahamian locals victimised by the now infamous Fyre Festival has received over US$100,000 in donations after featuring in a Netflix documentary on the subject.
Maryan Rolle and her husband Elvis run the Exuma Point Bar and Grille, and were hired by organiser Billy McFarland to cater the event, which was billed as a star-studded luxury music experience.
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What followed was a disastrous string of events that made international headlines. Festival-goers were left stranded on an unfinished site with little food, nowhere to sleep and no access to facilities, let alone any sign of the promised entertainment or Instagram influencers.
McFarland was convicted of fraud in October last year, and was sentenced to six years jail time.
Rolle is one of many interviewees in Netflix's Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, in which she explains how she had a staff of 10 people working around the clock to cater the festival.
"I literally had to pay all those people. I am here as a Bahamian. And they stand in my face every day," she said.
"I went through about US$50,000 of my savings that I could've saved for a rainy day. They just wiped it out and never looked back."
Now the restaurant owner has created a GoFundMe page in attempt to recoup the lost funds, and it's working - at the time of writing, more than 3400 people have donated over US$100,000.
"Back in April 2017 I pushed myself to the limit catering no less than a 1000 meals per day," Rolle wrote on the website.
"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."
Variety reports that some online commentators have questioned the legitimacy of the crowd-funding page, given the fraudulent circumstances surrounding the event.
However, a link to the page was shared by an executive producer of Netflix's Fyre, which many are taking as confirmation that the fund is genuine.
Newshub.
