This article was published on April 4 and updated April 6
Kanye West has mercifully kept from the public eye since his Instagram suspension and it looks like he's keen on remaining low-key by dropping from both weekends of Coachella 2022, which he was supposed to headline.
According to TMZ, a source close to Kanye announced that the rapper was dropping from Coachella lineup on April 4 without citing a particular reason, less than two weeks before the festival began on April 15.
One has to assume that it's related to the buffoonery he incited on Instagram, which got him bumped from the platform for 24 hours.
Technically, the shenanigans kicked off in February when Kanye publicly battled with ex-wife Kim.
West's harassment then extended to peers like fellow Coachella headliner Billie Eilish, whom Ye inexplicably demanded an apology from over an imagined slight before he confirmed his own Coachella attendance.
Eilish didn't apologize (nor did she need to) but everything seemed to be forgotten in the explosion of manufactured drama that ensued.
Or maybe not, given Ye's sudden departure from Coachella. Or, at least, presumed cancellation — he's still listed on the Coachella lineup's website as of April 5.
It's worth pondering whether Kanye's cancelation (I thought West was cancelling cancel culture, not concert dates) had anything to do with his surprise Coachella guest.
According to the same source who revealed that Kanye was dropping from Coachella, Kanye was planning to bring disgraced pal Travis Scott on-stage, who had previously been booted from Coachella following 2021's Astroworld disaster.
Scott, whom Ye has been hanging out with even before DONDA 2 dropped in February, has been attempting to paper over his tarnished image with Project HEAL, a charitable initiative in line with comparable mea culpas trotted out by celebs in hot water.
But Scott wasn't exactly keeping a low public profile, even after the birth of his son with Kylie Jenner: Scott was all over the Super Bowl 2022 afterparties and even held an impromptu performance before the 2022 Oscars, his first since Astroworld.
Ye's Coachella performance would've catapulted Scott back into the spotlight as if last year's catastrophe had never happened. Turns out, you really can't keep a good millionaire down.
Amazingly, Kanye has demonstrated complete restraint in the interim, avoiding social media entirely since his suspension.
It's almost as if he could've done this the whole time, instead of pointlessly stirring up trouble. Really makes you think.
A few days later, Coachella announced that Kanye had been essentially replaced by The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia in a joint performance, which is a pretty big shift from Ye but certainly no less major.
Commenters on Instagram called the swap an "upgrade" and "good choice."
"I thought they’d have a rabbi or minister in his place," Mister Mort joked. "Another direct messenger of/to the lo-rd."
