Coachella has quickly tapped a pair of new headliners to replace last-minute scratch Kanye West. On Wednesday (April 6), organizers of this year’s event — which will unfold on the weekends of April 15-17 and April 22-24 — announced that The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia will close things down together in the Sunday slot.
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The names appeared on on a revamped poster that dropped on Wednesday, placing the new headliners alongside the previously announced top-liners: Harry Styles (April 15, 22) and Billie Eilish (April 16, 23). Ye (previously known as Kanye West) was slated to perform at the Indio, Calif., fest, but pulled out on Monday. A Change.org petition called for the Yeezy fashion mogul’s removal from the festival lineup in light of his public behavior toward ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend, Pete Davidson. The petition garnered more than 49,000 signatures and counting.
“We have watched Kanye harass, manipulate, and hurt Kim, Pete, and others for over a year now,” the petition read. “No one seems to want to stand up to him, and the ones that do, he puts under fire as well. Most recently, he has been threatening actual bodily harm on others. This is ridiculous that he is allowed to freely do this. Coachella (along with other brand names that are still working with him) should be ashamed of themselves and should not be giving him any more of a platform.”
West did not issue a statement regarding the petition, but threatened to pull out of Coachella if fellow headliner Eilish did not apologize to Travis Scott — whom he planned to bring out on stage during his set. The “Hurricane” rapper had alleged Eilish “dissed” Scott in a since-deleted post to his Instagram on Feb. 10. The pop star, according to concert footage that shows her helping out a fan in need of an inhaler, said, “I wait for the people to be OK before I keep going.” West perceived that to be an insult to Scott in light of the Astroworld Festival tragedy, where 10 people died.
“I’m so looking forward to this moment with Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd finishing out the Sunday night slot this year,” Paul Tollett, president/CEO of Coachella promoter Goldenvoice said in a statement to Variety. “Coachella has a special relationship with Abel and I’m so thankful to have this upcoming performance with these iconic artists all on the same stage.” The Weeknd has appeared at the festival twice, first in 2012 and then as a headliner in 2018.
After West’s exit, sources told Billboard that a number of names were floated as potential replacements, including The Weeknd and Grammy-winning duo Silk Sonic.
See the updated lineup poster below.