This weekend April 13-22 another Coachella is about to go down in Empire Polo Club, Indio, CA or the desert of California like most people know it as. Now I have never really been a fan of Coachella as I just saw it as an expensive festival for celebrities to post on social media all the glamorous things they’re wearing and all the cool parties they are going to. Other than that I never really had too big an issue with it and did like most of the artist who performed there (minus people like Madonna).
Anyway it came out last year that the owners of Coachella supported republican candidates, anti-LGBTQIA+, anti-abortion, pro-gun legislation and organizations plus is cool with the Koch Brothers. Philip Anschutz the owner of Coachella faced heavy criticism last year after it was revealed he had donated up to $190,000 to conservative groups, including anti-LGBTQ organizations like Alliance Defending Freedom and the Family Research Council. Anschutz later called this report “fake news,” insisting he never intended to support groups that promoted inequality. Well sadly he was full on lying to save face.
According to Complex & the Fader, the 78-year-old billionaire gave nearly $200,000 to Republican politicians and Super PACs throughout 2017. The recipients included pro-gun Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, who was given $5,400 in March; Scott Tipton, a Colorado congressman who opposes same-sex marriage and abortion ($2,700 in August); U.S. Representative Mike Coffman, a pro-life birther ($5,400 in August); as well as Nebraska Sen. Deb Fisher and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. Though the aforementioned politicians received money directly from Anschutz, the biggest donations were made through The Anschutz Corporation, which handed over about $138,000 to the National Republican Senate Committee. The NRSC is an organization chaired by Gardner that aims to increase the Republican senate majority. Anschutz is the owner of AEG Live, the parent company of Goldenvoice, which launched Coachella almost 20 years ago.
http://www.complex.com/music/2018/01/coachella-owner-donated-187-thousand-dollars-republican-party
Now if all of that isn’t enough then you’ll remember that AEG which Anschutz owns was the venue that Michael Jackson was working on his final tour with before he died and the Jackson’s tried to sue for $1.5 billion in a wrongful death suit but lost. So basically Anschutz is a dirty person and that’s an issue in its self but here is the big issue I’ve got.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/michael-jacksons-family-cant-revive-768684
These celebrities who think it’s still appropriate even after finding out this information to still be getting these huge paychecks from Anschutz and still having people come and spend a bunch of money to see these people. Of course not all of these celebrities are liberal or support marginalized communities or things that matter and might just be so about their money that none of this matters to them. But for those who do care or act like they do in their music or social media then they should not be giving these young kids the idea that this kind of thing is ok. A lot of kids look up to these artist and a lot of them are part of the LGBTQIA+ community and to show them that you don’t care about them or their rights is just wrong. To say you don’t care about kids who are being gun down in the streets as well as the classrooms or that women don’t have the right to choose for themselves whether they can have an abortion. To say money matters more than your fans and doing whats right is wack.
I’m so done with celebrities like that and that’s why most people’s favorites are not mine because I don’t play like that. I am serious about cultural, racial, gender and basically human liberation and revolution. No amount of money would ever make me sell out these venerable communities to which we should be out helping. I mean all the money these celebrities make they could be donating it to communities of color, LGBTQIA+, indigenous, and poor people to make their lives better. But no they have no spine or backbone so as usual we just have to watch as your favs sell you out. But that’s life.
So all of us with a spine should boycott this festival and get your favorite artist to do the same. Post on social media and direct it at Anschutz, Coachella and the artist who are playing there this weekend or going to support. Oh and if you have any friends you know going tell them about this and get them not to go.
Till Next Time…Stay True to Your Values
