It was supposed to be the ultimate music festival on an idyllic island in the Bahamas, promising attendees an eminently glamourous affair with no expense spared and the opportunity to party on a deserted paradise once owned by Pablo Escobar. As it turned out, the Fyre Festival was the furthest thing from that. Now, Melbourne-born model Shanina Shaik has finally weighed in on her involvement with the infamous disaster that was the Fyre Festival.
Alongside the likes of It-girls Emily Ratajkowski, Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner, Shaik was just one of the many IMG represented affiliates who were paid to publicly promote the $1000-$12,500 ticketed event. Recent court documents have revealed that the runway extraordinaires pocketed more than $1.2 million for their efforts – a stark contrast to the salaries of the thousands of individuals who facilitated in the actual production of the event.
In addition to stimulating hype and building momentum for the festival on her personal Instagram account, Shaik appeared in lush adverts which clearly depicted an immersive and transformative experience.
Shanina has confessed to watching the Netflix exposé Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, a raw and authentic documentation of the chain of events that saw the festival’s demise. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Shaik was deeply upset by the havoc it wreaked on hundreds of millennials and even admitted that it brought tears to her eyes.
“It is really horrific what happened. The girls and I were just kind of dragged into it. We would never want to promote something like that or take someone’s money.”
Despite the incessant backlash and controversy surrounding the debacle, the 27-year-old stood firm in the defense of her world-famous modeling agency and their partnership with the Fyre Festival. “When a client comes to my agent and has a vision or a project they want to work with us on, my agency always makes sure we are protected and looked after,” she continued.
Shaik is the first of the models to publicly come forward and address her involvement regarding the festival. Along with a slew of other IMG representatives, she has also been subpoenaed to testify in the Fyre Festival court case.
WATCH: The Official Trailer For Netflix’s Fyre Festival Documentary
This article originally appeared on InStyle Australia
