Fyre Festival Survivor Andy King Is Excited For Audiences To Get To Know The “Real Andy King” On New Reality TV Show ‘The Anonymous’

Since 2019, Andy King has been a beloved fixture on the internet. The event planner was catapulted into the meme hall of fame after his appearance in Netflix’s FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened . The documentary detailed the rise and fall of fraudster Billy McFarland, which culminated at the catastrophic Fyre Festival . Andy King, who emerged from the rubble as one of the few voices of reason from the disastrous event, was asked to do anything to get trucks full of Evian water intended for concert goers through customs. That ask gave rise to the viral meme that catapulted King to internet fame . “I’m kind of a spokesperson for being the ultimate team player,” says King wryly. While McFarland ended up in prison for his crimes, King spent the years after Fyre raising money for the people in the Bahamas who were impacted by incident.

So, what has King has been up to since the documentary hit streaming? “I’ve been doing a lot of music festivals now,” says King. “Unlike Fyre, many are quite successful.” While King is very appreciative of his internet fame, he began to grow a bit tired of the fact that people only knew him from the viral meme. How could he let tell his real story? Enter The Anonymous , a new reality TV from USA Network that combines the social strategy of games like Big Brother and The Circle with traditional reality TV competition like The Challenge . “When this opportunity came up, I thought, ‘wow, this is the perfect way to change my narrative,'” remembers King. “This is the way to reintroduce myself to the world.”

The Anonymous is a unique strategic competition because it plays in two worlds: the real world and the anonymous mode. On the surface, the 12 players—including Big Brother winner Xavier E. Prather and Survivor legacy Nina Twine— work together to raise the prize pot of up to $100,000 and live under the same roof. In their hideouts behind a unique handle, the contestants scheme and deceive to advance their own games while setting up their competition for elimination. While this may be intimidating to some, King was ready for the challenge. “My biggest strength is building relationships, and it always will be,” explains King. “I think it worked beautifully with the show.” What a tease!

King jumped on a Zoom to chat with DECIDER about what he has been up to, how he made peace with being a meme, and what other reality TV show he’d like to appear on in the future.

DECIDER: Andy, it’s been a minute since the FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened came out on Netflix. What have you been up to?

ANDY KING: Oh, my word. As you may know, I spent a good year and a half and change traveling around the world doing speaking engagements, trying to raise money for two GoFundMes to pay back everybody in The Bahamas. That was kind of cool, but then Covid hit. I still managed to keep going with all my events, but made them virtual. I have been doing a lot of music festivals now. Unlike Fyre, many are quite successful [laughs]. Since Fyre, I have been kind of a spokesperson for failure. I’m also a spokesperson for being the ultimate team player, or as we’re now calling me “America’s team player.” That’s a hashtag, which is fun.

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When some people become a meme, they run away from it. But you embraced it, which I think is so refreshing. How did you make peace with the fact that you belong to the internet now?

Oh boy. As you probably will remember, I didn’t know what a meme was until one of my nieces told me. I thought, she was saying, you’re a “mimi.” And I’m like, “what is a mimi?” [laughs] It is interesting when you google “Andy King” and the description is something like “he rose to internet fame with his meme.” Obviously, there have been some derogatory aspects of it, but for the most part, it’s been pretty amazing for me to be labeled as the “ultimate team player,” the guy that’ll do whatever it takes to get the job done. I mean, oh, you need to get your child into a certain university. Oh, there comes the Andy King meme. Oh, you’re trying to get promoted? Oh, here comes the Andy King meme. I think it really is a compliment. I must look at it that way.

Do people still recognize you?

Fyre Festival was 2017. The documentary went up in 2019. I was at dinner last night in a little town in upstate New York, and, of course, two tables away there was someone recognized me. My partner calls it a “spotting.” He is like, “yep, someone’s tapping. Somebody is pointing at you, and now comes the phone.” We could see them sharing my meme around the table. My cast mates on this show have some fun reactions when they realize where they know me from. It is crazy.

Out of all the contestants on the show, you probably need the prize money the least. What attracted you to the show?

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Well, I’ve done a lot of soul searching over the last few years. When this opportunity came up, I thought, “wow, this is the perfect way to change my narrative.” This is the way to reintroduce myself to the world. Because of the intimacy of my last brush with fame with Fyre, people really think they know who I am. People stop me on the sidewalk, but they don’t know the real Andy King. This show was an incredible opportunity. I got to live in a house with 11 other people and share parts of myself and learn about their lives for a nice long period of time. That was probably the most motivating factor for me to do the show. It was exciting.

It’s difficult to categorize The Anonymous in the reality TV genre. It’s like Big Brother meets The Circle meets The Challenge . How did you feel about taking the reality TV plunge?

I guess you could say I’m a fan of the genre. I am a little older than most players on the show, and reality TV isn’t necessarily my thing on a daily basis. My partner is a little bit younger than I am, so he’s more knowledgeable than I am. We’ll tune in every once in a while. I was a little bit anxious and nervous while filming the show. I’m still anxious and nervous to see what comes out. With the world of reality TV and editing, I’m not sure exactly how I’m going to appear or how everybody else is going to appear. From the trailers, it looks as though you’re getting to see the real Andy King. There’s a lot more to me than what people think.

Clearly!

I’m older than the other contestants, but that works to my advantage. I’m Andy King. I’m the ultimate team player [laughs]. I’m the guy who shares wisdom. I’m the guy who says, “get out there.” I’m the guy who motivates people.

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What was your biggest strength going into the competition?

Developing relationships. I’m one of nine children. I have lived a life of a social experiment [laughs]being from a big family and being an event planner. My biggest strength is building relationships, and it always will be. I think it worked beautifully with the show.

In lieu of a traditional host, The Anonymous has DANI—an AI with a personality! What did you think about playing the game with her at the helm?

DANI was incredible. She was always very informative, quite relentless, and ruthless [laughs]. AI isn’t supposed to have feelings, but DANI was always full of surprises. So that made for our daily routine pretty crazy.

Now, The Anonymous hasn’t premiered yet, but I have to ask: would you be open to doing another reality TV show someday?

I don’t have anything in mind, per se. Obviously, Traitors is pretty similar to The Anonymous . My partner, as you may know, is from Scotland. The show is shot up in Inverness. It could be a lot of fun to do something like Traitors. Reality TV is a lot of work. There were some days we were shooting over 16 hours, and, at 63 years old, that’s a lot. But you know what? If I could survive Fyre, I can survive anything.

The Anonymous premieres Monday, August 19 at 11/10c on USA Network.

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