It’s obvious that Coachella is the mogul of all music festivals. They recently announced their 2017 lineup which promises amazing shows from popular artists. The headliners are especially impressive; Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar and Radiohead are all set to perform. As incredible as those musicians are – especially Beyonce, are you kidding me – you may want to hold off on buying tickets when you realize where your money is going.
It all has to do with Phillip Anschutz, Coachella’s owner. Anschutz is the head of the company that puts on the music festival. Needless to say, he’s rolling in money; he’s the 39th richest person in the United States and worth about $12.1 billion, according to Forbes. You could say he’s pretty successful with regards to his career.
But Anschutz also has a prominent track record of donating to organizations that openly embrace anti-LGBTQ+ stances and deny climate change.
The Washington Post reports that the Coachella head has given money to the Alliance Defending Freedom, the National Christian Foundation and the Family Research Council. All of which are actively opposed to LGBTQ+ rights. The Family Research Council has even been dubbed as an extremist group.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, Anschutz also gives money to support anti-environmental causes that refuse to accept climate change. During the 2016 election, he also donated over $1 million to Republican candidates, according to Open Secrets. In other words, politicians like Ted Cruz and Donald Trump benefitted from this man’s money.
So that $400 Coachella ticket essentially perpetuates LGBTQ+ discrimination and the denial of climate change.
What’s ironic about all this is that many musicians and celebrities have outright refused to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration based on his own discriminatory stances. Yet there doesn’t seem to be a problem in attending or performing at Coachella. It’s possible that these artists simply don’t know about Anschutz’s viewpoints, but it’s also possible they know and don’t care. Given that many of these celebrities are very liberal and politically active, it will be interesting to see how they react if confronted with this information.
There’s more to life than flower crowns and sick beats, I guess…like basic human rights and preserving the environment.
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[H/T: Elite Daily]