Tosh Show - My Time With The Fyre Festival Founder - Billy McFarland

Episode Date: February 27, 2024

Daniel talks to Fyre Festival organizer and convicted felon Billy McFarland.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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What's the first thing you ate when you got out of prison? A shrimp from Costco. Shrimp from Costco. Eddie buys seafood from Costco all the time. Oh, salmon all the time. They got great salmon there, Billy. They have great salmon. Tausho!

Tausho! Tausho, Tausho! Hey, y'all, it's me, Daniel Tauschen. Welcome to Tausho! Hope everyone's buckled up, because today's gonna be one heck of a ride. Sorry for the language. How you doing, Eddie?

I'm doing pretty good. You sound a little different though today. You think I sound different? Well, I, I mean, we're recording a little earlier. This is just, maybe this is my morning groggy voice. I'm sure it'll, it'll work its way through. What'd you do this weekend, Eddie? Yeah, I just hung out at the house, had some friends over.

You had friends over? I didn't come over. I missed a... Yeah, nah, nah. That was fucking bullshit, man. You had friends over. Like, they're like, whole crew of people I don't know about. All right. You know what I did? On Friday, I went to my son's preschool

and I passed out 21, that's how many people are in his class, 21 index cards where I wrote a clean, funny joke that a four-year-old would laugh at. And I gave them to the kids and I told them they needed to practice their joke over the weekend. And then on Monday, I went in, I had built a stage, a little backdrop and made them a little comedy club at their preschool. And I was going to teach them how to do stand up.

And they were so excited. And I got a microphone and everything like that. Got a little stool, put a little kid's water bottle on the stage. And, you know, I had him do say funny things too. Like, I'll be here all week, try the chicken fingers. Yeah. We did. They just like to hear their voice amplified.

But here's the thing. Every one of those kids memorized their joke. They took it seriously. Like their parents told me they're like, oh, our kid was working on his joke all weekend. And I was like, oh, that's great. And I was just, you know, showing them that every, but every kid hears all the time that they can be a doctor or, you know, a firefighter. But, you know, they might not be brave or they might be dumb as shit. So you need to know that there's another option. And that's why I introduced him to comedy.

It was fun, everybody. My son did well. He, here, let's play his joke. Why did the girl for a sick a butt out the window? Why? Because she wanted to see a butterfly. Thank you, that's my time. Woo!

Woo! It just holds up. By the way, I didn't charge these kids for my expertise. Yeah, yeah. No, but there are these comedy classes. And, you know, if anybody ever talks to me about standup, what do you think of these comedy classes? I think they're ridiculous.

I don't think anybody should pay money to learn how to do standup, because to me, that was actually the fun part was trying to figure out how do I do this. I'll tell you, here's a story some people might know, the first time I did stand-up it was not in a comedy venue, meaning it wasn't even a comedy night. I just looked in the paper in Orlando and I saw open mic and because I was thinking everything open mic means stand up, I'm going to go to this. And I went there, it was like a little jazz club and they were just having musicians go up and perform all

night. And I was like, oh no, I made a huge mistake. So I was like, I don't think I had already signed my name on the paper and then I went over to the guy and I said, hey, I messed up. I thought this was like comedy. He's like, well, are we gonna tell jokes? And I was like, yeah, I was just gonna go up and tell. He's like, yeah, that'd be great.

I just do it. And I'm like, okay. So there's this night of bad music, and then they stop to have me go up for a few minutes and do horrible comedy. Anyway, so the point is I never took a comedy class and it's weak and tell. But you just learn, you just figure it out.

So like, yeah, I did comedy the wrong venue. And then I was like, oh, I should look for places that are doing comedy. And that's the open mics I should go to. I worked out for. Yeah, it worked out. And by the way, if you're somebody that's like, oh, I signed up for a comedy school and it helped me, then all right, fine. But I just don't think it's a necessary step in learning how to become a comedian.

And I do say this to everyone. If you wanted to get into stand up comedy, it's a necessary step in learning how to become a comedian. And I do say this to everyone. If you wanted to get into stand-up comedy, it's, uh, it's, you'll get better. It's not like, oh my goodness, only the funny people do well in stand-up. I know tons of very successful comedians that aren't funny and opposite. I know tons of very funny people that are very poor stand-up comics. All right, Eddie got any videos for us today? I do have the video. You do!

Yeah, and let's, for people just listening, check out our YouTube channel for the link. What the fuck was that? I hope we got paid for that, Eddie. All right, let's see what we got here. All right, let's see what we got here. You know, this should be next year's Super Bowl halftime show. Is this Hamilton? No, I think this is the Fire Festival. Let's see what you did. Let's see what you brought me back.

The Fire Festival. You remember that? Huh? More like Liar Festival. Am I right? I got conned everybody. Oh man. Well, you're in luck.

Today's guest has been in prison for the past four years for producing the worst concert ever. Enjoy. At one of the most famous restaurants in the world, there's a table in the corner where the most incredible conversations on the planet are happening every week with owner Ruthie Rogers, an amazing guest. Like Martha Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, and Paul you a seat. Ruthie's Table Four. Listen to Ruthie's Table Four on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Everyone in our country has a voice. It's something that says not just where you come from, but who you are. Welcome to NPR's Black Stories, Black Truths, a collection of podcasts and a celebration of the hosts in journalism who've always spoken truth to power. Our voices are as varied, nuanced and dynamic as the Black experience,

and stories should never be about us without us. Find NPR Black Stories, Black Truths on the iHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Martha Stewart and we're back with a new season of my podcast. This season will be even more revealing and more personal with more entrepreneurs, more trailblazers, more live events, more Martha and more questions from you. I'm talking to my cosmetic dermatologist, Dr. Dan Belkin, about the secrets behind my skincare. Walter Isaacson about the geniuses who change the world. Encore Jane about creating a billion-dollar startup. Dr. Elisa Pressman about the five basic strategies to help parents raise good humans. Florence Fabricant about the

authenticity in the world of food writing. Be sure to tune in to season two of the Martha Stewart podcast. Listen and subscribe to the Martha Stewart podcast on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. My guest today is the co-creator of the greatest music festival. He was the star of two very popular documentaries and he was sued for a hundred million for spending millions of your parents' money. Our first convicted felon, huh? Woo!

Please welcome Billy McFarland. Thank you, Daniel. Let's get right to it. This is the first question I asked all my guests. How was jail? Really terrible. I did 10 months in solitary confinement, seven for trying to do a podcast from the pay phone. So it feels wild to be in Los Angeles with you doing

a podcast and not in solitary. So, wait a minute. You were put in solitary for trying to do a podcast for seven months? Now, isn't the goal in jail to get your own space? On some level? They outsmarted me there. There was a guy who got into his shootout with the police and he lost his colon. He was named Bags because he didn't have a bag. So, they made him my cellmate in solitary confinement So every 30 minutes the toilet was probably a foot and a half of my bed. They had to be used So yeah, they found a way to make it worse. How'd the podcast do coming out of prison?

Just like here you get a lot of subs an hour after the trailer came out They just like some beefy guard came to myself like McFarlane get your ass over here And that was the that was the end of it You're a large man right? Did you like do anything to yourself to make your image look a little tougher when you were in the clink? No my glasses were like really crooked because you couldn't really change them out so I look like a super nerd. Everybody thought I was a pedophile until they asked you my friend name. Why just because you had glasses on that's that's the look of a pedophile a white guy I

Don't know about you, but a white guy in jail with no tattoos and all of his teeth usually your pedophile That there's the tell all right, let's talk. That's the how long were you in Geel four years for exactly Yeah, like plus or minus a month Wouldn't you know four years and month and a half, but who's you know? Four years and a month and a half, but who's counting? Was it? Was it four years and a month and a half? Yes. I mean, that's a long fucking time. It's a long time.

I lost half my 20s. Deserve early so, but yeah. So I'm trying to catch up. Oh, look at you. So you feel like you deserved it. Absolutely deserved it. Totally messed up. Now, I don't know enough about this situation

to think that you completely deserved it because in my head, you were seeking people to invest. Tell me where I'm wrong. Seeking people to invest. And like all investments, sometimes they work out and sometimes they don't. So where I went wrong was I told investors we were doing far better than we actually were. So I lied to the investors, but what people don't know is even if the event worked, I still would have gone to jail.

Like the event we actually tried. So the scam wasn't the event, the scam was me lying to the investors. So even if it would have gone off completely without a hitch. I'm still with bags and solitaries. Are you, even if it was profitable? Even if it was profitable. Even if it was profitable.

Like if I tell you, hey Daniel, you know I have $10 million in my bank account and give me a thousand bucks. And even if I return to $2,000, I still lied. I don't have 10 million in my account after last night. So. What do you say to people that call you a con? I mean, is that, that's not what you set out to do.

I haven't called so many things. Like that's the only thing I don't like. That's the only thing you don't like. I don't think I don't like. Everything else is like, yeah, I fucked up in so many ways, but. But you weren't deliberately trying to con me? It wasn't like this great con.

I don't want to get over on people. I think I'm obsessed with trying to give people a good time and bring them together. And I'm childish and I even do a lot of stupid things to try to make it happen. But the intention is good, but it doesn't make the crime okay. Did you have to get authorization

to leave the state of New York to travel here today? And am I responsible for you? Yes, to all the above. Had permission, Dan Notash's name always secures the deal there, and yes, you're responsible for all my behavior, so. Ha ha ha ha. Ha ha ha.

Total hypothetical. I give you $10 million today. All through legal means, how long before you could double it? How long before I can double it? Oh God, I'd probably blow it in like three weeks. Oh, alright. That's not what I wanted to hear. That's not what I wanted to hear.

Give it to me, I'm not going to jail. What do your parents do? They live in New Jersey, so they grew up in their family, they do real estate. You grew up in New Jersey, do you feel that had something to do with the fact that you ended up in prison? I think I'd approve that all New Jersey people weren't terrible, but I think I proved it to be true. Nurture versus nature. Couldn't escape. Yeah, I mean, it's not your fault.

It's not my fault. You're born in New Jersey, you're gonna end up in jail. You're born in the arped, you're gonna end up someplace gross. Was it prison, or was it minimum security? What's going on there? Started at minimum security, got in trouble twice. I flew on Con Air three times, where they shackled you in an airplane uh-huh that

was kind of wild what was it just an airplane full of criminals shackled by the ankles your hands shackled here and then they put me on a bus for 17 hours from Oklahoma to Detroit Michigan shackled so you couldn't be for 17 hours that was kind of brutal and you and you didn't pee no you could I mean you're literally shackled They don't they don't care if you pee yourself. I guess not. How did you survive that? That's kind of brutal It sounds it sounds I mean, it's worse than I fell asleep on the shoulder the guy next to me I woke up and said hey, what did you do? He goes I made bombs. I'm like, oh, maybe I'm not gonna sleep in your

Did you meet anybody in prison that was convicted of murder? I did meet some murderers, yes. How is your relationship with Jha today? Uh, nonexistent. Yeah? Yeah. How did he get off completely? Did he?

What was the ramifications of his role? Uh, I don't think anything. That's weird. That might be the first time in history that a white, white-collared guy goes to prison and then the black rapper free as a bird. You see, he was a little smarter. He'd gone to jail before, so he knew the inner workings

and how the system went down after that. All right, should we get into the fire? Let me just get into the festival. You were 23 when you organized the fire festival. Who in the fuck gives a 23-year-old that kind of money? I think this is the most embarrassing part of the story. Most of the investors had backed me for four or five years. So they'd seen me go through little wins

and little losses along the way. And I violated their trust when I said, hey, this one's gonna be the biggest. Like, yes, I was right, but I was wrong about how big it was gonna be. I mean, I just feel like they're the ones that are at fault. I would cut a check to a 23 year old is just grossly negligent on their part.

So you're not gonna give me the $10 million. No, you're not 23 anymore. Now you're, how old are you? 32. 32. All right, I'm just background for me. Don't enjoy going to see live music. A festival seems like a nightmare to me.

The best festival in the world versus what you tried to put on, to me doesn't seem that different. You're shitting outside, accommodations are garbage. I've only got to one music festival my entire life. Which one? That's a red flag. I went to Coachella one time.

Did you enjoy it? No, it sucked. It's hot. Oh, but the women they dress so provocatively. I went to like meet this girl and didn't work outside at that time and that was my only music festival ever. And from that I thought I could do fire. Makes a lot of sense.

Do you see the press are not selling any tickets this year? At Coachella? Yeah, it was all over the news. Don't care. No one's buying it? Yeah, it was all over the news. Don't care. No one's buying it. Yeah, I know. Like I've done Bonnaroo.

Really? Did not. It's awful. Will you perform at Fire too? No, but I'll let you say that I'm going to be there. Oh, that's so sad. Can't you do that thing where you used to like line up subject to change? And you promote me, but I don't show up.

First headliner announced Daniel Tosh. Oh. I don't know that I would sell. I don't know. I think headliner announced Daniel Tosh. Oh. I don't know that I would sell. I don't think I would move the needle for you at the festival. You know what I saw yesterday? What?

Is your special saying that no one ever is sad in a wave runner? Uh-huh. I couldn't relate more, so I feel like I have to do that at the fire festival. Are you, so you are gonna do a second? We are. We are.

Oh, Jesus. Why not start smaller and not go, like swing for the fences here? I just like want to create an incredible experience, but I also want to pay everybody back what I owe. How much do you owe? It's like between $26 and $28 million, kind of changes by the hour.

So you do still have to pay this back? Yeah, every month I literally have to like give a check back to the investors, and then they get a percentage of all the business revenue too. So, you know, if I were to makes a hundred bucks, like a percentage that goes back to them. Is there any way that you could be free and clear in one big festival?

It'll probably take like three or four festivals to pay back. I have partners who like, you know, are owned significant pieces of it. So yeah. Did you ever in your wildest dreams think you'd be in the whole $26 million? I think it's just past the point of like being tangible, right? It's just so much.

So it's at least for me. Yeah, I always think like I always hypothetically like if I'm playing with a deck of cards, do you gamble? Not really. I like, well, like pretend I go, okay, I'm gonna put two million on this hand and then I lose. And then I walk up a four. Let's play. Because if I lose, just become 30 million. If you lose, then we're good.

Well, I just, I'm just wondering if you're like, you could just double your double down. If they give you a 28 to try to play with. If I gave you 20 million dollars, you would put it down on a hand? No, never. I wouldn't let you give it to me. I don't wanna go to jail.

Cut you a chip. Well, I don't, you don't go to jail. If I cut you a check for $25 million and you find a casino that takes your action, one hand a blackjack, to become even. I would like not be able to sleep if I lost. I fucked you over.

Well, let's say you win. I don't wanna fuck anybody over. Let's say you win, you pay back your debt, you're at zero now, what do you do with your career? I'm still doing fire too. I just have to do it and have to show people like what the dream was. I mean, whose dream are we talking about?

I rented an airstrip in New York like two months ago and did a concert on the airstrip and took people up in a plane that probably shouldn't be allowed to fly for zero gravity flights and that worked really well. So I convinced myself that we can just go bigger now. I mean, just, you're so ambitious and it hasn't dropped off.

Yeah, I mean, are you slowing down as you're aging? Do you feel like, okay, now I've got a better perspective on things? I went to jail, like totally broke, lost 85% of my friends and I'm just like so scared of being that powerless again. It just fucking freaks me out. So 85% of your friends.

Yep. I don't even know what that means. If I lost 85% of my friends, is that I lost two friends? I mean, I probably had 10 and now I had one and a half after. Yeah, that's a lot of it. All you need is two friends. Seems pretty much how, how upset were your parents? Super upset. Yeah, that's a lot of it. All you need is two friends. Seems pretty much. How upset were your parents?

Super upset, yeah, that's the hardest part. Family just gets unfair punishment. Yeah, that's a tough one. But they still supported you or no? I mean, it's tough, they're embarrassed, right? It's like your son is a total fuck up, so it's hard. I mean, part of me would be like, that was pretty ballsy, kid.

Big swing. Big swing. Yeah, big swing. I gave him those balls, honey. Yeah. Did not. At what point were you like, I can't stop this and you just had to wait for the wheels to fall off? I was at the festival, the first thousand people had arrived

and my like number two at the company came up and said three people had died. It was not true at all, no one was hurt and he had told me these elaborate stories about there One got bit by a pig and blood out two got shot like none of this is even remotely true and at that point I'm like, okay, let's turn these planes around and get everybody home Why did someone tell you in the first place that three festival goers died? They probably thought that was the only way to get me to stop it. They're like what's scary Billy? Oh, they're okay. So they were like listen what's scary Billy? And tell him that they okay. So they were like,

listen, this is bad. Yeah, he just isn't listening. But somehow you conned all the like the world's hottest models to promote this thing. And then and that made me laugh. Because it's not funny, that couldn't have been hard. But but do you think do you think they'll be back? So prior to messing up the big one we did like 20 mini fire festival trips that went really well I think that's what created all this like marketing hype So I want to get back to what I'm good at and just like get help to do it do it right But yeah, I have no idea who's gonna be there, but people are gonna have fun

You're like Pete Davidson. Was that good or bad? Well, I just good in that to just like you somehow... I don't think my dick's that big though. Oh, I don't... I bet... Wouldn't it be great if his penis wasn't that big? Yeah, maybe it's a little bit. This guy's just sweet. Did you have a...

Who was your favorite model that you got to... Oh, this is a dangerous question. Are you in a relationship? Yeah. You are. Somebody fell in love with you while you were behind bars? Right before. Oh, and you made them wait for you?

Yeah, that's kind of fucked up. That's messed up. Yeah. That's wrong, I think. No, okay, but so you're in a serious relationship. That doesn't matter. In a relationship, you can still have a conversation. Yeah.

Who do you think is the prettiest model out of a list of models that I just read off? I think Bella was the most fun. She just did the most like cool activities. That wouldn't be my pick. Who do you like? Rajikowski. Oh. I think she's really pretty.

It'd be funny too to get some of these models, the same models that now they're, you know, they've lived life. Yeah. Yeah. Fire festival too, they got their kids with them. They're like, yeah, yell at them. That would be a funny video. Their kids are pulling at their legs. Fire festival too, they got their kids with them. They're like, yeah, get me yelled at.

That would be a funny video. Their kids are pulling at their legs. They're like, oh, mom, put something on. Oh my god. Put a rap on at least. By the way, I'm just guessing that you watched the documentary. I have not. You honestly have not watched either.

I swear, no. I can't do it. I watched one of them. Okay, I'm sorry for you. No, it was enjoyable. It was enjoyable. Wow. I mean, I was like, I watched. I've heard a lot of them. Okay, I'm sorry for you. No, it was enjoyable. It was enjoyable. Wow. I mean, I watched...

I've heard a lot of things. Which one did I like? Which one did I watch, Eddie? The one on Netflix that has the guy in it. Netflix. I watched the guy... One on Netflix, the guy that said he had a blow the guy at customs, which I don't know if he actually did or didn't, but I found him delightful.

So, did you know how I found out about that story ever happening? Uh-huh A prison guard comes up to me and goes hey you can tell me did you force him got to blow someone for official government officer to release water? A custom like wait what like I never heard about this ever happening until the police officer tried to question me I can't believe you didn't watch you. Are you think you'll never watch one of those documentaries? No How in the world? I don't believe you. I would just get so mad. Of course you'll get mad, but why wouldn't you watch it? Because it would take away from the real point, right?

I fucked up and just because like someone said it did something in there and that would not be true, like it just, I'm not mature enough to handle it. Yeah, but I don't think you're mature enough not to watch it. I am. That's crazy to me. I'm just scared. They all watched it in jail one day and it went outside all alone and the rest of the jail, it's not going to USB drive and they watched it on the TV and I'm outside alone like, where?

Which one did they bring in? The Netflix one? Yeah, that's the better one. So were you in jail when that came out? I was. Did they try to reach out to you like for some, any reporters or anything like that? A little bit, it was kind of a shit show, but it was.

Where were you in Ohio? That one I was in New York and then I went to Ohio and then right outside Detroit, Michigan. What's the best state to be in prison in? I like to Detroit one the most because they're probably the most like gang bangers there So they were more concerned about them and left me alone. That's gonna see Detroit another win real real real problems to worry about Well, I feel like do nothing in this cell. Where was the food worse prison or the fire festival? Oh, so Probably the fire festival? Ooh, so probably the fire festival. In jail, I had a great Mexican cellmate. He didn't really speak a lot of English,

but he cooked me quesadillas with a clothes iron every day. So he like stole a clothes iron from the laundry room and would grill quesadillas in our cell. They're pretty good. Unbelievable. That's a good gig. Good gig. Was there any entertainment?

Do you like put on any shows for people fighting people getting high and like collapsing? I was kind of the daily daily and did you fight ever not really know watch did you have to cheer? Did you have to cheer for the white people? Sometimes yeah, that's kind of the problem. I would cheer for the wrong guy and they would get mad. Yeah Man everything about gel stresses me out. It's terrible. Do you do a lot of crying in prison a little bit? I would cry all the time. The toughest guy there would cry a lot So maybe feel like it was okay. Is that what you needed? Yeah, you needed validation Yeah, for sure. When the guy was killing more people than we've talked to is there crying every night

I think it's okay to cry. Well, he's got stuff to cry about. Got demons in his ears. He had a video He chopped the guy's head off with a machete and he played soccer with his head and you're allowed to have your legal material so he would show people the video to scare them. I thought you were in a minimum security prison. This is in the Brooklyn Detention Center, so there was all. Oh my God. Yeah. What's the first thing he ate when you got out of prison?

Shrimp from Costco. Oh man, shrimp from Costco. Oh, man, shrimp from Costco. Eddie buys seafood from Costco all the time. Let's go Eddie. Oh, salmon all the time. They got great salmon there, Billy. They have great salmon. Big slabs of salmon, just... And then he gets the kit for the Caesar,

and I'm just like, oh, God, we're all going to shit ourselves. My family gave me a Timberland wallet with $200 and 20s in it and said, you're good to go. So, couldn't really get that far. Oh, when you got out of prison. You gotta get out, so hence the Costco shrimp. I really wanted to trim. Did you get up the, do they give you the bag of like the stuff that you had on your persons

when you walked in? Yeah, yeah. They do? Oh, no, no, no. They give you the bag of what you had in jail. So a couple of like sweatpants and notebooks. What misconceptions do people have about jail that you're like, oh, that's not the way it is?

I think like as a kid, you were taught that there are good people and bad people. I think it's like not true. There's probably like 2% of the population who are actually psychopaths and everybody else is just somewhere on that spectrum of doing something stupid in their life. And I think most people were like good people

who just didn't have opportunity in life and like they saw drugs and got 15 years for it. Now they're stuck, right? But it's hard to blame some of them. No, I mean... How desperate you are, how bad your circumstances are often lead to going to jail, but most people in there are actually not bad.

And that was a huge eye opener. My normal first question that I ask everyone, do you believe in ghosts? No. Do you? No. Hahaha. Top five favorite billies.

Oh, Wave Runner Billy number one. Pretending like I know how to fly and scare people in the back of the plane number two. No, no, no, no. I don't know the fuck you're talking about. Famous people named Billy. Billy the Kid. Billy the Kid.

Yeah. Okay, a criminal, great. Yeah, Wild Bill. Another, what is, oh, this is great, right? Who else is there? Billy Corgan. Billy Gates. Billy Gates.

Billy Shatner, if you know him well. Don't, but there you go. Billy Madison. Nice. Billy on the street. I don't know him.. Billy Madison. Nice. Billy on the street. I don't know. Eichner. Okay.

I don't know. He goes on New York. He doesn't manage. He's funny. Sounds like we're going to end up pretty soon. Where are you living currently? I'm living in New York. We're back.

You got your own place? Yeah. You living with your girlfriend? No, some night she's there, but she has her own place too. Oh, a little safety house. Safety. For me mostly. Case things go wrong. Case things go bad. How long did you wait from when you were released to make love to your girlfriend?

How long of a wait was that? You're gonna get me in trouble. Um, why would you get in trouble? I was in the halfway house. Oh, you're not supposed to make love in the halfway house? No, but we made it work. Okay. Made it work in jail too a couple of times.

Oh, did you got you got conjugal visits? No, but made it work a couple of times. Not supposed to talk about that either. Oh, that's interesting. That was fun. Did she do that thing where she mashed her boob up against the glass? No, it was for real. Oh, your gift seems to be raising money.

So why don't you just focus on that and like just raise money for charities. That would really do a good PR 360. That's not a bad idea. Thank you, Daniel. Let's start one together. A charity? Yeah. With you.

I'll do the fundraising and you do everything else. No, no, I'm not doing it. Hey, I always give people a gift that's on my show, something from my house. I thought I would just give you a blank check. Yeah, I don't think it's a good idea, Daniel. You don't think you should have my information? No, maybe, no.

You guys are giving me way too much credit. All right, fine. I won't give him the blank check. Damn. I'm gonna give you a used Ferrari. No way. But it's my son's. I don't want to screw your son over.

Nope. We're screwing you over. You thought you were getting a real Ferrari, but we're giving you a used toy Ferrari. This is so cool. Guess what? Thank you. Guess what? Yeah.

Batteries are dead. No problem. So you're on your own. I've worked so hard for one of these. Hold on. I got another gift for you. I don't know what you'll do with it, but if you go to prison again, I want you to bring it.

A shank? No. Damn. This is a photo of me and my wife on a roller coaster at Dollywood. Wow. Now, the reason I want you to have that photo is because that's more fun than any music festival. You go to Dollywood, they've got shows, they've got roller coasters, ah, it's just the time of your life.

Daniel, yeah. Can we get him the phone, my probation officer? Put this on the floor, I don't want this on the floor. Get permission to go to the island right now, and then you can reassess this judgment you're making. You're telling me that your island's gonna be better than Thunderhead, the roller coaster at Dollywood? All right, you put that on the floor.

But you keep that. Can I get this one? Yeah, you keep, that's yours. I want you to put that on in floor. But you keep that. Yeah, you keep, that's yours. I want you to put that on your cell. Now I can show people I actually have friends. All right, have you ever been to Dollywood? No. It's delightful. Wanna go?

Yeah. All right, let's do it. I'll definitely go back to Dollywood again. Will I go with you? No, I gotta lug my whole family. It's a nightmare. So you can't address me to your family? I'll introduce you to my family.

I don't know, give a shit. I'm not gonna let you watch my kids. Really? No, I mean, if I need to go to the bathroom, you can watch them. Oh my God. I don't give a shit. I'm gonna let you watch my kids Really? No, I mean, I mean if I need to go to the bathroom you can watch them. I don't like bringing them in It's always weird. I wish I was like 10% I was like stand next to me. Don't touch anything. Stand next to me. Don't touch anything in the next I look over and my son's like trying like just like I'm lean against anyway You're gonna have kids someday. I think so probably not yet. You're gonna scrub the internet first

How much money do you have in your how much money do you have? Net worth what's your current net worth? So what I owe between 26 and 28 million so you know negative in that range No, but do they they don't allow you to keep any money? I can keep money, but I prepare percentage whatever I earn right do it, yeah. So are you making money yet? A little bit. Your zero gravity bullshit, how did that go? A couple dollars. That worked? It was fun, no one died.

Is that always the bar? Yeah, as long as nobody dies. As long as no one gets scammed and no one dies, and we won, baby. Are you, do you read your Wikipedia page? Never. Okay, I'm sorry to bring it up. It's pretty bad. I'll tell you what line one is. Yeah, con man, right? It's got the word's pretty bad. Sorry to bring it up.

That's pretty bad. I'll tell you what line one is. Yeah, con man, right? It's got the word con in there. We were negotiating a deal yesterday and one of their counter points was, you think we're just gonna give this much money to someone whose Wikipedia page says con man?

And they use that to try to get some percentage off on the deal, so. Did it work? Yeah, it worked, I felt bad. Like, all right. You guys win. Yeah, I mean, it's a hard argument. It's a hard argument, like you're right.

We'll give you a 0.5 off. Tell me how you really feel. Has anyone physically threatened you that you owe money to? They're smart enough to veal the threats pretty well. So they come off as polite. Uh-huh. Hey, I hope you're doing great coming back. Where's my fucking money?

But you feel the threats? A little bit. It's not too crazy though. It hasn't gotten to the point where it's bad. Do you sleep well? Sometimes. Not last night. Oh no.

Yeah, it was bad. Why was it last night bad? This is a dangerous city for me. This is a dangerous city for you? Should go back home. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

People seem to overlook your flaws a little bit too fast here. So it's like, maybe I shouldn't be this accepted as you go back. Now, are you allowed to vote anymore? I don't know. That's a good, I think no, but there's like, there's try to pass new laws. So you get a pass new laws. But this is an election year.

So you probably won't be able to vote this year. But if you had a vote, where would your vote go? I wouldn't know what to do. You wouldn't know where who to vote. No, I'm really conflicted.'t know what to do. You wouldn't know who to vote? No, I'm really conflicted. Like Trump gave me a year off jail, so that was cool. He did? Not personally, he like passed a law

that gave nonviolent first time offenders a year off. So that was pretty cool. So you got a year knocked off because of Trump. Well, that's worth a vote. Yeah. I mean, if you told me you were gonna vote for Trump because he got you out of jail a year early, I'd be like, well, I can't fault that guy.

Yeah, it's pretty hard to say no to that. Biden, step up. Yeah, seriously. What could you do for him? $26 million, baby. We're just kidding. Would you allow jaw rule to perform at Fire Festival too? No. Okay.

We're going younger at this time around. Well, sure. But I mean, that'd still be a kind of a neat, neat nod to lessons learned. No? Perhaps. How are you actually going to get musicians to show up to this festival? Aren't they going to be like so skeptical? That's why I'm here to get the first one.

It's like once you come, everybody else will follow you. Who do you want? Who's a dream get? I get the first one. It's like once you come everybody else will follow you. Who do you want? Who's a dream get? I want Kanye. Kanye, let's do a fire kill. Oh God. I mean that is perfect. It's perfect.

It's absolutely. Is there anybody better? No! Get Kanye. There's no reason he shouldn't do this. It just fits so nicely. What could go wrong? Have you ever thought about booking comedians at

your festival yeah we did didn't do it but thought about it like like most of the festival so this new festival might have like like a comedy tent is that what you're saying oh I didn't think of it until now but you'd be great can you be your headliner no I'm not gonna do it but that's what they have at these festivals they have like a comedy tell it's give you the main stage it'll be floating on the water glass see-through barge, Daniel Tosh. I don't want any of this stuff. Everybody's in the wave render smiling.

Are you doing it on an island again? We are, yeah. I got to complete the story. An American island or no? No, it's Caribbean. But I got to complete the narrative. Like, it's got to be back in a very similar location to the first one. And we just need to execute the Dream of Fire one. You need a longer lead time.

We have a year now. It's going to be next February. You should do it in... Why don't you do it on American soil? It's so boring. I know it's boring, but like Bonnaroo does it in whatever shitty Tennessee and Coachella's out in the desert. You want to challenge Daniel Tosh? We need content here.

We need somebody to talk about. Why do you say my full name, Billy McFarland? Because I review you guys with new business advisor. Don't talk to your business advisor that way either. Do you have a business advisor? I do. Okay. Yeah.

He's not as good as you. There's no scenario. He doesn't give me his checkbook either. So he kind of sucks. How much are tickets going to cost to this new fire festival? Starting at 2,500 and... Whoa, whoa, whoa. Starting at 2,500. whoa starting at 2,500.

We're focused in the million dollar ticket Daniel Tosh. A million, there's a million dollar ticket. There's how many million dollar tickets are there? Well, probably like 20 or 30 if we can. And what do you get with a million dollar ticket? So you were partnering with this incredible new like condo tower in Miami. So they'll have like one month a year

in this crazy like firehouse there. And they get to do all the cool shit with me at fire. They might die. We're gonna try to, you know, push the boundaries and do tricks in the planes and jump out of helicopters and go free diving and do all this fun stuff. 2,500, what is 2,500 you did? Does that get you a plane ticket?

You'll go there on a boat. From where? From Miami. From Miami, you can get there by boat. Okay. All right. So how long does this boat there by boat. Okay. All right. So how long is this boat ride? Like three hours.

Three hours. All right, so this is gonna be in the Bahamas or is it gonna be a key or is it? It's somewhere in the Caribbean. Can't say where yet. Okay. Well, who owns it? Because Bahamas, we need a passport.

Do we need a passport for this one? You need a passport, yes. All right. I know, I'm working on that too, guys. Three hours, we need a passport. Go around, please give it back I'm innocent. Oh, you don't have a passport. I get okay So you won't be able to go to your own festival

There's a chance you guys don't give my passport back. No, I think I'll have it back soon We're working on it diligently. I mean, it's pretty easy to leave the country without a passport getting back in They would be so happy they would do it. They would throw a celebration probably You know worry about it. It's dumbass. How many days is the festival? Three days, like three day weekend. Is it going to be two weekends or just one off?

Just one. Just one weekend. Try two weekends last year. It didn't work. I mean, they didn't get to the first day. So let's take the one week. How excited were people that were on the second weekend that they didn't actually do it?

The problem was they weren't there to tell their friends they were there. I think that was kind of the value you got from the first one. In hindsight now, do you think those people are happy that they went? That they were part of it or do they feel silly? I hear a story every week or two of someone

who had just had a crazy experience at the first fire festival. I was invited to two weddings people. Two weddings? Yeah. Kinda cool, right? No, it's not. How is that not cool?

Cause that marriage will not work. Why not? Cause those people make dumb decisions. They seem like good people. Two weddings. Yeah. Huh. Kinda cool, right? No, it's not. How is that not cool? Cause that marriage will not work. Why not? Cause those people make dumb decisions. They seem like good people. Oh, I don't believe them. Food, how's the food situation we take care of? Oh, I don't know.

We're gonna leave that one for the last minute. The shrimp from Costco is pretty good. We're not doing Costco shrimp, Billy. Food is important. I'm trying to undersell it this time, okay? Let me do that. Okay, but there will be food? Maybe.

Will it be included? Yeah, the food's included. We have a fast-涂 partner who like, surprisingly does this stuff for a living. So I'm here to talk shit and provide the wave runners and they're gonna actually make this work. Okay, all right. If I don't give you the headline,

they're gonna fire me. Okay. I think comedians would be great. I'll go pitch them on it after. No, yeah, no. Please, Daniel. I mean, yeah, I'll give you'll give you a list you and Kanye. I'll give you a I I could think of some kind of like you're knocking each other with like the inflatable so see who falls off the stage first No, okay

Some of your ideas are off How much would the right you would check for for to perform at the fire festival too? I would need, it's a lot. It's a lot, like a half a million. Damn. And I still would say no. I don't have fuck you money, but I have no thank you money. That's pretty close.

People have asked me all the time, like, oh, would you do this private event? I'm like, no, it's not worth it. It's not worth knowing that the event could be bad. I need a nice theater. Like even when I could perform in larger venues, like arenas or things like that, I chose not to. I'd rather make less money and be in a beautiful old theater

where everything sounds right, that people are seated the right way, as opposed to a hockey arena that's been converted so I can fucking get the most money. That's how I've always kind of approached standup comedy. I didn't like comedy clubs either, the lowest end. I didn't like that either because people fucking sit in the front row, eat nachos,

and like, who's this? I don't like jalapenos. So there was a middle ground for me. I wanted to get successful enough to get out of comedy clubs. The other good thing about not playing the biggest venues in the world- Like fire too.

Right. Is that when you fall off, you don't notice the fall off near as much. Understood. It's nice. It's like, oh, I don't have to go back to smaller things. It's like, no, I kind of just...

Nothing will compare to fire too, right? It's like, you don't want to hit the peak and just have to go downhill, I understand. How many tickets have to be sold for this to be considered a success? Couple thousand. Couple, that's it? Yeah.

How are you gonna get, you can't get Kanye with a couple thousand tickets. I never said we have Kanye, I said I want Kanye. No, I understood, sort of what you said. But he't get Kanye with a couple thousand never said we have Kanye said I want No, I understood what you said But he's not coming for a couple thousand people. I don't know probably not I mean maybe it's a few more wrong turns Yeah, you never know all these artists are gonna ask for their money up front probably so thank God for the partners and Dan Natasha. I'm not a partner. She's a backer. It's different And Dan Natasha. I'm not a partner. She's a backer. It's different Do you surfers? It's just I do surf really, you know people always ask me about this board and they always paint it black But it's it's carbon fiber. It's a single fin. Don't touch the board. You can touch it

Just don't believe fingerprints on it. Um, yeah, but like these are pressured marks from I actually wrote it I used to write it a bunch. What is it five six five eight? No, it's probably six two Oh, how tall are you six two six two? She recognized one when I see one guess not What's your wingspan? I have no idea my arms are pretty long though. Are they yeah, do you play any sports grown up a little bit? It wasn't very good. Would you enjoy playing football and jiu-jitsu? Oh, yeah. Yeah, what do you watch now? Do you watch all the UFC stuff watch UFC and a big Jets fan, unfortunately. Oh, man, it sucks. That was a rough year. Yeah, it's been a rough life.

Torture. Have you been to do you go to Jets games? I went to the first game this year Aaron Rogers carried the flag out I've never heard 70,000 drunk people so happy when he gets hurt like two minutes into the game The entire stadium just gets depressed the same time. It's like a collective. I go fuck her life Did did people blame you? Oh for sure Fire festival guys here Security carried me out. They're throwing popcorn That's tough. How many years in your 30s do you think will be spent in jail? I really hope not. Do you think I'm gonna go back?

No. I really know, I'm not. I don't think so. Yeah, that'd be super fucked up. The odds of you going back to jail are greater than if you were like me, where you would just stay so far away from everything that got you there the first time. The fact that you're bracing it and diving back into that world, that would terrify me.

I think what's scary is like, it's an opportunity for someone, right? Like if they get me, if someone like gets me in trouble, like they get rewarded for that, and that's like, that freaks me out. Oh. Yeah, so it's like, it's like- A little bounty on your head. It's like a come up for someone's career. So that's kind of scary. Was it worth it?

No. No. No, heard a lot of people, isn't it? Not cool. No. I'll pay them back though. The people of the Bahamas, how many of those still need to be paid back?

So we owe like 200,000 back to them and that will be paid soon. So we're working in there right now. And how many years, when was the fire festival supposed to happen? 2017. Okay. So we spent around like $4 million on local employees there and like 200k is still owed. So 200k.

Yeah. I feel like we can get that 200k back to them. Let's do it right now. Try to them. Let's do it right now. Try to check. Oh! I don't want to pay 200k. You'll help, it's like 190 people. It's 190 people that need to get paid? Yeah, the average is just over $1000.

Is that with interest, the 200k? No, it's not. It's like what they're owed, so. All right, we need to get 300. It is right at the Billy McFarland, and we can make sure it gets the right sources Don't do that. I'm not making it. I'm not ready to check to you and we know what to do with the check You don't know what to do with the check. No, I bet you do

Billy thank you for being on the show. Thank you, Daniel. I appreciate it. Good luck with Fire Festival too. I can't wait to watch that documentary. And yeah, all the best. Honored to be in the same chair as Dr. Finke, so thank you, Daniel. At one of the most famous restaurants in the world, there's a table in the corner. We're the most incredible conversations on the planet are happening every week with owner Ruthie Rogers and amazing guests Like Martha Stewart. They did have an affair with one of his best friends Jimmy Fallon

You want a zip line over your dad while he gets attacked by alligators and Paul McCartney John and I hitchhiked to Paris We've saved you a seat Ruthie's table for listen to Ruthie's table for on the iHeart radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Everyone in our country has a voice. It's something that says not just where you come from, but who you are. Welcome to NPR's Black Stories, Black Truths, a collection of podcasts and a celebration of the hosts in journalism who've always spoken truth to power. Our voices are as varied, nuanced, and dynamic as the Black Experience, and stories should never be about us without us. Find NPR Black Stories, Black Truths on the iHeart Radio app,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Martha Stewart, and we're back with a new season of my podcast. This season will be even more revealing and more personal, with more entrepreneurs, more trailblazers, more live events, more Martha, and more questions from you. I'm talking to my cosmetic dermatologist, Dr. Dan Belkin, about the secrets behind my skincare. Walter Isaacson about the geniuses who change the world.

Angkor Jane about creating a billion dollar startup. Dr. Elisa Pressman about the five basic strategies to help parents raise good humans. Florence Fabricant about the authenticity in the world of food writing. Be sure to tune in to season two of the Martha Stewart podcast. Listen and subscribe to the Martha Stewart podcast

on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. ["Pause Show"] Pause show! Hey, Carl, what'd you think of Billy? Seems like that time away did him really, really good. Seems like he's on the path of the straight and narrow. Full disclosure for you people at home that are wondering, yes, I have bought me and my

family those million dollar tickets to Fire Festival 2. Would you like to come to Fire Festival? It's in the Bahamas. They got to do a little paperwork to get dogs in unless we, uh, you know, Fire Festival 2. There's no way that's not a success. But I encourage all my listeners to attend Fire Festival 2. All right.

Oh, hey, Carl, I know why your head's down right now. You don't want me to tell it, but I'm going to tell it. The other day, my son and I were in the pool, and my daughter was running around the deck without a diaper on. She's young, she's one, but she was naked. And then my son and I were watching her. You gotta watch her close because she doesn't back into things. She just goes straight off and say, all right, now you're dead.

So you have to watch and you have to be prepared to sprint. Anyway, she's walking around and she stops. And she just stares at me. Just looks right in my eyes. Like just beautiful blue eyes just stares at me and just shits. Just a huge shit. One big solid long turd and I'm like, oh my goodness. And my son is like, ah, ah, and then I go, well, now it's really a poop deck.

Oh, oh, the both of us chuckled for so long. Anyway, then we scream, right? Carl, we scream, we say, mom, get a poop bag. Our daughter just crapped on the deck. And then she goes, she turns around and runs inside. She's laughing a little bit. And then I look at my son and my son goes Oh, no dad, and I go what and the poop is gone. Oh

Yeah And I go what and my son goes I can't I can't get it out of my head Carl just came up and ate it Carl admit it You ate my daughter's poop. A whole turd in one bite. Just walked up, snatched it and walked away. Wow. But that how? I mean, what do you do? I don't, I remove his teeth. I don't know what to do. I brushed him. I wiped his mouth down a little bit, but it was fine. His breath smelled fine.

I don't even think he chewed it, just devoured a turd. I got to live with that for the rest of my life. My son was traumatized. He just kept saying, I can't stop thinking about it. Oh, anyway, speaking of that, boyswearpink.com. Check out our charitable clothing line for toddlers. The goat coming out on prime. That'll be a lot of fun.

Got a lot of tour dates coming up throughout the Midwest, Vegas, NorCal. Oh, it's going to be good times. Now it's time for my son's bed time story. See you next week, guys. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Once upon a time, there was a solid city called Malibu. And in Malibu, there was an old place, and then the old place went old cars.

And it had these things. Oh, it's eating the place. There's an old truck, there are cellatimes, and here they sit. They sit in a boy named... ... and this boy named... ... Adam Yaya's. And this boy named Rrrr, had him Ya Ya's. And he waited

for one and he didn't know about his dragon run. And tell me where he had the baby. And he was a big brother. And he had a baby sis. That's the end! The end! That's a baby sick. After end, Ian! That's a good story. At one of the most famous restaurants in the world, there's a table in the corner.

Where the most incredible conversations on the planet are happening every week, with owner Ruthie Rogers, an amazing guest. Like Martha Stewart. Well, he did have an affair with one of his best friends, Jimmy Fallon. Do you want a zip line over your dad while he gets attacked by alligators? And Paul McCartney. John and I hitchhiked to Paris. We've saved you a seat.

Ruthie's Table Four. Listen to Ruthie's Table Four on the iHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Martha Stewart and we're back with a new season of my podcast. This season will be even more revealing and more personal with more entrepreneurs, more live events, and more questions from you. I'm talking to my cosmetic dermatologist, Dr. Dan Belkin, about the secrets behind my skincare. On Corjane, about creating a billion dollar startup. Walter Isaacson,

about the geniuses who change the world. Listen and subscribe to the Martha Stewart podcast on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Everyone in our country has a voice. It's something that says not just where you come from, but who you are. Welcome to NPR's Black Stories, Black Truths, a collection of podcasts and a celebration

of the hosts in journalism who've always spoken truth to power. Our voices are as varied, nuanced and dynamic as the Black experience, and stories should never be about us without us. Find NPR Black Stories, Black Truths on the iHeart radio app or wherever you get your podcasts.