Is The Weeknd Still Kanye West's Coachella Replacement?
By Kristin Myers on April 6, 2022 at 7:15 PM EDT
Updated on April 6, 2022 at 7:15 PM EDT
The Weeknd was supposed to replace Kanye West as one of the headliners of the Coachella music festival; however, it seems like the drama is far from over.
The Weeknd Wants To Be Paid The Same Money As Kanye West
On Wednesday, Page Six reported that The Weeknd felt like music festival organizers were trying to stiff him. The “Donda” rapper Kanye West was reportedly set to make a cool $8 million dollars by performing, in addition to a $500,000 production fee.
It’s not clear exactly how much money The Weeknd is set to make, but apparently, it’s a lot less than that. The Weeknd’s management team and Goldenvoice, the company which produces the festival, were reportedly in “fraught” negotiations.
A source told the outlet that “The Weeknd came in at short notice to take Kanye’s top spot. But Phil Anschutz [who owns the Coachella Festival through AEG Live] wanted to hold on to Kanye’s money and pay The Weeknd far less, just a few million. The festival would pocket the rest.”
“Even after Coachella announced the new lineup on Wednesday, a deal wasn’t in place for The Weeknd, who threatened to pull out at an hour’s notice if he didn’t get the same deal as Kanye,” they added. “Finally, on Wednesday — faced with the prospect of a second headline act pulling out of Coachella at the last minute — Anschutz’s company caved and agreed to pay The Weeknd the same money.”
A separate source revealed that the negotiations were being handled by an employee and not Anschutz himself.
The Weeknd Takes Over For Kanye West At Coachella After He Drops Out To ‘Get Help’
Earlier this week, another source told Page Six that Kanye “wants to get help” after a series of posts on social media. In March, the Yeezy designer found himself on the end of a 24-hour Instagram ban after hurling a series of racial slurs against “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah. After several repeated bullying and harassing comments about Pete Davidson, D.L. Hughes, and others, Ye was banned from the Grammys.
On Monday, Ye quietly bowed out of Coachella without a peep on social media. A source told the outlet on Monday that “Kanye has definitely pulled out of Coachella. He hasn’t been rehearsing or putting on a production.”
Kanye West Backs Out Of Coachella... Travis Scott Is Gone Too
This seemed to also include Travis Scott, who shares two children with Kylie Jenner. Scott was supposed to perform with Ye at the music festival, but sources reported that “it would be virtually impossible for him to get it together” now. The source added, “Kanye is backing out because he wants to stay out of the public eye after all the drama with Kim and Pete; he wants to get help.”
As TMZ reportedly reported, Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson have been taking their relationship to the next level by meeting each other’s families. The SKIMs founder recently traveled to New York City and visited Pete on the set of his new movie, which was shooting not far from his grandparents’ house. The couple stopped by to pay them a visit so Kim could spend more time with his family.
On Sunday, just before the Grammys, Pete was also photographed driving around in a golf cart with Kim’s daughter, North West. It remains to be seen when Pete will meet the rest of her children... if he hasn’t already.
