Kanye West pulls out of Coachella days before festival kicks off, reports say
Rapper had not rehearsed or prepared for the performance, according to sources
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Kanye West has reportedly pulled out of Coachella festival, just 11 days before the event is scheduled to begin.
The rapper was due to perform on the closing night of the two-weekend festival, which takes place in California on 15 – 17 and 22 – 24 April.
While the exact reasons behind his cancellation have not been disclosed, a source told the publication that the 44-year-old had not rehearsed or prepared for his scheduled performance.
Sources have confirmed to Variety that West – who has legally changed his name to Ye – will no longer appear at the event.
He previously headlined the festival in 2011 and has not performed his own set since then. The rapper did, however, make surprise appearances during sets by The Weeknd in 2015 and Kid Cudi in 2019.
The first two nights of Coachella will be headlined by Harry Styles and Billie Eilish.
Rumours had emerged that Travis Scott would be joining West for his set. TMZ, however, have reported that Scott will not be appearing at Coachella either.
Scott has kept a low profile since the Astroworld tragedy, in which 10 people died during his performance in Houston in October due to a crowd surge.
The Independent has contacted representatives of West and Scott for comment.
News of the musician’s cancellation follows after West had been barred from a planned appearance at Sunday night’s (3 April) Grammy Awards.
A representative of West confirmed reports that he was scrapped from the awards show due to his “concerning online behaviour”.
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)
The announcement came shortly after West used a racial slur against Trevor Noah in an Instagram post after the Daily Show host said that the situation between the rapper, his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, and her new boyfriend, Pete Davidson, was “terrifying to watch”.
The musician had his account suspended, with Instagram’s parent company Meta confirming to The Independent that it had deleted content from West’s account and temporarily restricted the account from posting, commenting and sending direct messages.
He has also repeatedly used Instagram to post outbursts against Davidson, who began dating Kardashian in October last year. He also threatened to cancel his Coachella set if fellow headliner Eilish did not apologise to Travis Scott over a perceived swipe over Astroworld tragedy.
A petition for Coachella to drop West from its 2022 line-up has received nearly 50,000 signatures at the time of writing.