Canadian singer, The Weeknd, has threatened to pull out of the popular Coachella festival if he doesn’t get the same pay as Kanye West, who days back declined to perform at the music festival.
Sources who spoke to Page Six, claim The Weeknd demanded to be paid the same money as West, who was set to make $8 million-plus a $500,000 production fee.
The Weeknd and house music supergroup Swedish House Mafia were announced early Wednesday as the replacement for Kanye as Sunday headliner at the festival later this month.
The source said, “The Weeknd came in at short notice to take Kanye’s top spot. But Phil Anschutz [who owns the Coachella Festival through AEG Live] wanted to hold on to Kanye’s money and pay The Weeknd far less, just a few million. The festival would pocket the rest.”
The source continued, “Even after Coachella announced the new lineup on Wednesday, a deal wasn’t in place for The Weeknd, who threatened to pull out at an hour’s notice if he didn’t get the same deal as Kanye.
“Finally, on Wednesday — faced with the prospect of a second headline act pulling out of Coachella at the last minute — Anschutz’s company caved and agreed to pay The Weeknd the same money.”