Kanye West says he won’t perform at Coachella unless fellow headliner Billie Eilish apologises to Travis Scott, after she appeared to mention his fatal Astroworld festival during a recent show.
“I wait for people to be OK” before “I keep going”, she said while trying to get an inhaler to someone in the crowd in Atlanta.
Kanye has suggested this was aimed at Travis Scott’s handling of a deadly crush at his Astroworld festival.
Billie says she “never said a thing about Travis,” adding, “was just helping a fan.”
Kanye had posted on Instagram: “Please apologise to Trav and to the families of the people who lost their lives.”
He added: “Trav will be with me at Coachella but now I need Billie to apologise before I perform.”
Billie Eilish responded directly to the post, commenting that she “literally never said a thing about Travis”.
“[I] was just helping a fan,” she said.
This all follows the Astroworld tragedy in November 2021 where 10 people, including a nine-year-old boy, were killed in a crowd surge.
Travis Scott continued to finish his set on stage while emergency services tended to fans – he has always said he wasn’t aware of this during his performance.
He’s now facing hundreds of lawsuits.
“Trav didn’t have any idea of what was happening when he was on stage and was very hurt by what happened,” said Kanye.
Kanye decided to get involved after this footage on social media appeared to show Eilish pausing a recent concert in Atlanta when she noticed a fan struggling to breathe.
“Do you need an inhaler?” she asked while pointing into the crowd.
“Guys, give it some time. Don’t crowd … We’re taking care of our people, hold on. I wait for people to be OK until I keep going.”
The grandparents of the youngest Astroworld victim, Ezra Blount, have reportedly criticised Kanye over what they call his “hurtful” comments.
“What an idiotic thing to say,” the 9-year-old’s grandfather Bernon told Rolling Stone.
Ezra’s grandmother Tericia backs Billie, saying “she is caring for the patrons at her concert”.
“I just think that’s crazy of Kanye to even let that demand [for an apology] come out of his mouth.”
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