We posted this article originally in January, but it seems that everyone is talking about it again as Coachella time is here.
Coachella tickets are going on sale today (at 3 pm EST) and some big names like Beyoncé, the Weeknd, Eminem, and more are going to be performing.
But, Perez Hilton, of all people, wants to shine a light on the homophobe behind the scenes before we buy our tickets.
Hilton shared on his website that fans of the annual music festival might want to think before they buy their weekend passes.
“Just your second annual reminder that while Coachella is a super fun time, proceeds from your tickets will in all likelihood go to fund anti-LGBT and anti-abortion politicians in a very important mid-term year.”
The person Perez Hilton’s specifically talking about is Coachella/AEG owner Philip Anschutz. Anschutz is known for donating heavily to conservative Republicans. Thus, by paying Anschutz, we are indirectly paying homophobic politicians working to make our lives worse off.
That said, Anschutz denies these allegations and calls them “fake news” (as if that didn’t confirm his stance in itself).
In a statement, he wrote:
“Recent claims published in the media that I am anti-LGBTQ are nothing more than fake news — it is all garbage. I unequivocally support the rights of all people without regard to sexual orientation.”
That said, Fader came with the receipts and reported Anshutz’s continual support of anit-LGBTQ politicians like Paul Ryan, Scott Tipton, and Mike Coffman.
Keep this in mind as you try to buy your tickets to the music festival. Remember where your money is really going.
I saw a friend post the
I saw a friend post the following with the idea that if your are getting upset with Coachella, it is not unjustified but why are you going to that Lady Gaga concert? Why are we not upset with her or others? It was an interesting point: There's lots of news resurfacing about how the owner of Coachella is a homophobe. This is the 2nd year this story has been in the headlines ever since an Uproxx article in January 2017 blew it into the mainstream consciousness (even though his background has been on the record for much longer.) To be clear… Coachella is owned by Goldenvoice, a music festival and concert promoter, whose founders are very pro-LGBTQ. Goldenvoice then sold to AEG, which is one of the world's two largest music conglomerates (the other being LiveNation). AEG's chair, Philip Anschutz, is the conservative Christian in question. He's no doubt made some questionable donations to some pretty awful groups like Alliance Defending Freedom, Family Research Council, and Focus on the Family – groups that are very VERY anti-LGBTQ. Anschutz's response has been to say that after he learned of the anti-LGBTQ stances that some of these groups held, he immediately stopped donating to them. (whether or not it was genuine, or the covering up of a PR nightmare, is anyone's guess) Here's a pretty good summary of the situation (https://www.billboard.com/…/aeg-coachella-owner…) This guy is super rich and donates to a lot of charities – he notably also made this $1 million donation last month to the Elton John AIDS Foundation (https://www.billboard.com/…/philip-anschutz-elton-john…) … AEG owns a lot of things besides Goldenvoice. They own the LA Kings, LA Galaxy and LA Lakers, Walden Media, The Staples Center and the O2 Arena. Lady Gaga (and many other artists) have exclusive tour deals with them (https://www.aegpresents.com/artist/lady-gaga) … there were also a lot of queer artists booked at Coachella this year – St. Vincent, Kelela, Hayley Kiyoko, Brockhampton, PVRIS, and Perfume Genius, amongst others… by all means, I believe anyone who opposes Anschutz's Christian views should speak out and protest him and AEG. But if you're protesting Coachella, your activism should put equal pressure upon all of the media entities that AEG controls. The headline "Coachella's owner is anti-LGBTQ" doesn't quite explain it all as cleanly as possible. Like most things in this world, it's not a clear-cut case of good vs. evil.