The Weeknd 'Demanded' Kanye West’s $8.5 Million Coachella Paycheck
7 April 2022, 11:37
The Weeknd had his eyes on Kanye West’s Coachella pay check after he dropped out just 11 days before the festival was due to start.
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The Weeknd threatened to also pull out of Coachella after demanding they match his paycheck to Kanye West’s, who dropped out of the line-up two weeks before the festival.
Kanye was set to make $8 million from the set, plus a $500k production fee.
Why Has Kanye West Pulled Out Of Coachella?
The Weeknd was set to be the front-runner to replace Kanye and will join Swedish House Mafia at the festival on Sunday 17th and 25th April.
The Weeknd performs at the Super Bowl halftime show
Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat and Disclosure are also set to take to the stage.
According to Page Six, The Weeknd’s deal wasn’t done when Coachella announced the updated line-up this week.
A source told the publication: “The Weeknd came in at short notice to take Kanye’s top spot. But Phil Anschutz [who owns the Coachella Festival through AEG Live] wanted to hold on to Kanye’s money and pay The Weeknd far less, just a few million. The festival would pocket the rest.”
Negotiations between The Weeknd’s management and Anschutz’s company apparently turned fraught.
The source went on: “Even after Coachella announced the new lineup on Wednesday, a deal wasn’t in place for The Weeknd, who threatened to pull out at an hour’s notice if he didn’t get the same deal as Kanye.
“Finally, on Wednesday — faced with the prospect of a second headline act pulling out of Coachella at the last minute — Anschutz’s company caved and agreed to pay The Weeknd the same money.”
Kanye hasn’t given a reason for dropping out of the festival yet, but according to sources he wants to use the time to ‘get help’ after weeks of publicly dragging ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend Pete Davidson.
This will also be Swedish House Mafia's grand return to the highly-popular music festival as they have not performed there since 2012; they disbanded in 2013 at their peak of popularity.
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