FuckJerry, the Fyre Festival grifters who profit off of other people’s jokes, are heading to court, and it’s likely this won’t be the last time. Olorunfemi Coker, a Nigerian “content creator,” is suing the company, as well as its founder, Elliot Tebele, for copyright infringement, claiming that they knowingly stole and used one of his tweets in a promotional post for Tebele’s JAJA tequila company. Coker is seeking $150,000 in monetary damages.
Coker’s lawyer, Scott Burroughs, tells Vulture that his firm, Doniger/Burroughs, has “a number of clients with claims” against FuckJerry, and, goddamned, we are just shivering with anticipation over here. The goons at FuckJerry call the lawsuit “frivolous,” saying that “we intend to defend it vigorously.” That’s no doubt true, and their deep pockets will surely help them in that endeavor. As more lawsuits are filed, however, it might not be so easy to silence their critics. That said, that is something they’re quite adept at, having previously worked to scrub social media of any and all negative Fyre Fest content in the weeks leading up to its collapse.
The lawsuit includes Coker’s original content, as well as how it was repurposed by FuckJerry to shill its vile swill, and you can see that below. In the complaint, Coker alleges that he sent messages to FuckJerry about the post but didn’t receive a response.
It’ll be a while before this thing goes to court, obviously, but there’s plenty to do in the meantime, like watch this Vic Berger video about FuckJerry’s practices that Tebele fought like hell to get removed.