In 2018, Coachella kicked off its return with more bad publicity. You see, Coachella organizer Goldenvoice is owned by a giant company called AEG, which promotes tons of high-profile music and sporting events. That company’s owner, billionaire Philip Anschutz, has somewhat of a problematic history with the organizations and politicians that he donates to on his company’s behalf. Once you read the word “billionaire,” you probably parsed out where this was heading.
It turns out that many of the ultra-rich tend to have conservative political views for some reason, and Anschutz has, as a matter of public record, donated a metric buttload of money to a variety of organizations which are not particularly fond of the LGBTQ and immigrant communities. As reported by Pitchfork, these include such lovely institutions as Dare 2 Share Ministries (which has dragged out the old “Satanic perversion” nonsense against gay folks) and NumbersUSA Education & Research, which euphemistically calls itself an “immigration-reduction organization.”
A lawyer for AEG issued a long-winded statement proclaiming the company to be a defender of LGBTQ rights while explaining its convoluted process for weeding out the bigoted and intolerant organizations Anschutz chooses to donate to, while Anschutz himself declared rumors of his anti-gay leanings to be “fake news” — a term popularized by a certain American president who couldn’t seem to stop lying. In an interview with the New Yorker, Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett was even mortified by Anschutz’s use of the phrase, saying, “I’m telling you, these types of things can kill you. There are big ships that go down over small things. You’re riding high, but one wrong thing and you’re voted off the island.” Well, that’s not exactly voicing staunch support for the gay community, but Tollett sure can mix metaphors like a world champion.
