Kanye West was supposed to perform Coachella in 2019, but the artist pulled out just two days prior to the Indio festival announcing its lineup. Now, thanks to Billboard, we know why: Kanye wanted a huge, giant dome built just for him in the middle of the Empire Polo Fields.
On Jan. 1, just two days before Coachella co-founder Paul Tollett was set to announce Kanye West as one of the stars headlining the desert festival, West sprung a last-minute surprise on the concert promoter. Instead of performing on the main Coachella stage, West asked Tollett to construct a giant, custom-built dome in the middle of the festival grounds. The dome would be designed by West collaborator and set designer John McGuire.
When senior executives from Coachella parent Goldenvoice explained that the dome would be impossible to build in four months and would require the AEG-owned concert promoter to rearrange the entire festival site and remove a large section of portable bathrooms, West became irritated, declaring that he was an artist with a creative vision who shouldn’t be spending his time talking about port-a-potties.
A source tells Billboard that West had taken the call while on vacation with his family and said it was Goldenvoice’s responsibility to deal with the bathrooms. He then hung up abruptly, sources said.
Goldenvoice then said “thank u, next,” and reached out to Ariana Grande, who was confirmed less than 24 hours later to take the place of Kanye – which will probably be a better performance anyway and will still leave plenty of bathrooms for fans.
