Glastonbury Responds To Kanye Campaign

In an op-ed in The Guardian, Glastonbury’s media partner, Eavis said “the petition has given sections of the worldwide media a pretext upon which to hang a negative Kanye story.”

More than 126,800 people signed the Change.org petition set up to protest West being chosen as the Saturday night headliner.

“Kanye West is an insult to music fans all over the world. We spend hundreds of pounds to attend glasto, and by doing so, expect a certain level of entertainment,” the petition reads. “Kanye has been very outspoken on his views on music….he should listen to his own advice and pass his headline slot on to someone deserving! Lets prevent this musical injustice now!”

Speaking to NME, Neil Lonsdale – the man behind the petition – said, “Glastonbury needs upbeat major artists. Glastonbury is an institution. It is expected that it has the biggest names. The biggest performers. Kanye does not represent that.

“I fought the temptation to scream and instead opted to hurl my iPhone across the room. Two years ago we had The Rolling Stones playing the Saturday night, and this year we get Kanye West? It’s an outrage,” he added.

Lonsdale admitted he has never actually attended the festival.

Eavis, daughter of festival founder Michael Eavis, wrote, “Scrutiny of our headliners has become something of a national pastime. … 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.”

Drawing attention to the fact West has won 21 Grammys, she added, “I’ve seen people this week saying that Kanye shouldn’t appear because, in their opinion, he’s not a positive role model or because they think he’s too self-assured. We book our acts by choosing the best and most challenging musicians on the planet – not by applying some kind of arbitrary morality test.”