UPDATE: Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd replace Kanye West as Coachella headliners
The rapper previously threatened to drop out of Coachella if Billie Eilish was still allowed to perform
UPDATE, April 6: Kanye West is officially off the Coachella lineup. Now, The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia will have a joint headlining set on Sunday, April 17. This news comes from Variety.
Kanye West was supposed to headline Coachella this year alongside Harry Styles and Billie Eilish, but in a predictable move, he decided to drop out of the festival at the last minute. Travis Scott was also supposed to be a surprise guest during West’s set, and it would’ve marked his first public performance since the Astroworld tragedy.
TMZ first broke the news, and an unnamed source also told Variety that the rapper had not rehearsed or prepared for his Coachella performance.
No specific reason was given for West’s decision not to play Coachella, but this news comes a month after West threatened to drop out of the fest if Eilish was allowed to perform.
At one of her shows, Eilish helped a fan who was struggling to breathe, made sure they got an inhaler, and told the crowd, “We’re taking care of our people, hold on. I wait for people to be OK until I keep going.” West had perceived that act of kindness as a slight against Travis Scott who kept the Astroworld set going amid mass casualties in the crowd.
In a now-deleted Instagram post, West wrote, “Come on Billie, we love you. Please apologize to Trav and to the families of the people who lost their lives. No one intended this to happen. Trav didn’t have any idea of what was happening when he was on stage and was very hurt by what happened and yes Trav will be with me at Coachella but now I need Billie to apologize before I perform.”
Eilish commented in a reply to West’s Instagram post, writing, “Literally never said a thing about Travis. Was just helping a fan.”
West recently deactivated his Instagram and is inactive on Twitter, so he hasn’t commented on dropping off from Coachella’s lineup. The festival also has yet to announce who will replace West as the new headliner.