As the petition to see Kanye West removed from the Glastonbury Festival removed grows to 100,000, the organizer – Emily Eavis – is defending her choice.
In a open letter posted on The Guardian, Eavis expressed her disappointment at the people who are hating on her decision to bill West, calling the hate uncalled for. “Scrutiny of our headliners has become something of a national pastime,” Eavis wrote, noting, however, that this year was uncharacteristically visceral. “In normal circumstances, we wouldn’t add to the story by commenting. But given the enormous amount of media coverage from all corners of the globe we felt compelled to respond this time.” she added. After taking up for ‘Ye as a musician and as a person, Eavis made it clear what her decision would be.
“Ultimately, there is no question in my mind that we have got one of the greatest artists of his generation headlining, and we have no regrets at all about booking him. As the late, great Glastonbury regular Lou Reed said about Kanye: “The guy really, really, really is talented. He’s really trying to raise the bar. No one’s near doing what he’s doing, it’s not even on the same planet.” And we’ve got him coming to our farm! In rural Somerset! That’s great, right? I certainly can’t wait to see his performance.”
My two-cents: Wonder if this backlash will cause him to check himself the next time he bashes a fellow artist…. probably not.
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