In a single Instagram post, Kanye West simultaneously confirmed that Travis Scott would be joining him during his headlining set at Coachella and threatened to drop out of the festival unless Billie Eilish apologizes to Scott.
West took issue with a perceived slight by Eilish at Scott. During a recent concert in Atlanta, Eilish paused her performance to retrieve an inhaler for an audience member in need. “We’re taking care of our people, hold on,” Eilish told the crowd.
While Eilish made no mention of Scott by name, some fans and media outlets were quick to compare her response to how Scott reacted to the tragedy at Astroworld — which left 10 people dead. West made the same connection.
Related Video
“COME ON BILLIE WE LOVE YOU PLEASE APOLOGIZE TO TRAV AND TO THE FAMILIES OF THE PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES,” wrote West in an all-caps Instagram post on Tuesday. “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.”
There’s a lot to unpack here. To start, West confirmed his intention to bring out Scott at Coachella, who himself was previously booked to headline the festival before the tragedy at Astroworld. After Scott was dropped by Coachella, organizers booked Eilish in his place.
Now, West is threatening to cancel his own headlining appearance at Coachella unless Eilish apologizes for showing human decency to someone in need. Eilish is by no means the first artist to stop a show due to a medical emergency, and there are several documented instances of her doing so long before Astroworld.
It’s worth noting that West makes a lot of threats that he doesn’t actually follow through with (see: stopping the release of Netflix’s new documentary and beating up Pete Davidson, for example). So, Coachella probably need not sweat it.