Beyoncé dominated Coachella during her spectacular headlining set on April 14, and everyone was super into it, including Cara Delevingne. Yet, the Paper Towns actor had previously said she was boycotting the festival, due to the festival owner’s alle…
Beyoncé dominated Coachella during her spectacular headlining set on April 14, and everyone was super into it, including Cara Delevingne. Yet, the Paper Towns actor had previously said she was boycotting the festival, due to the festival owner’s alleged political stances, so some took issue with Delevingne’s “BeyChella” support. In a recent Instagram statement on her story, Cara Delevingne defended her Beyoncé love and Coachella boycott, as Stylecaster reported, and explained how, for her, one doesn’t necessarily negate the other.
Delevingne commented on the issue with a straightforward statement on social media. She said, according to Stylecaster,
She then detailed that she was able to simultaneously enjoy Beyoncé’s stunning performance (which was streamed live via Youtube) and disagree with Philip Anschutz, who owns AEG, the parent company of Coachella, and the allegations that have been made about his stances. Delevingne went on to say, per Stylecaster:
It’s an important distinction to make. Delevingne believes she can support Beyoncé and her performance while also choosing not to attend or give money to the festival itself.
The whole situation was prompted by Delevingne posting a photo of Beyoncé during her Coachella set with her Destiny’s Child bandmates Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland, in which the actor sung the praises of the entire performance. She wrote, in part, ” I am speechless. That performance made me burst into tears and sent shivers down my spine.”
Yet, as Delevingne herself stated, she had previously decided to boycott the festival. Because of that, some commented that she was a “hypocrite” for discussing and praising any Coachella performance. A July 2016 Washington Post article reported that Anschutz’s the Anschutz Foundation donated to the Alliance Defending Freedom and the National Christian Foundation, both of which have anti-LGBT ties (per The Daily Beast).
The Fader also reported that Anschutz had donated money in 2017 to pro-gun Colorado Senator Cory Gardner (who has received near $4 million in NRA funding, per the New York Times) and Colorado Congressman Scott Tipton, who has opposed same-sex marriage and identifies as pro-life. Anschutz later released a statement to Rolling Stone in January 2017 where he denied that he was anti-LGBT. He wrote, in part:
Bustle reached out to AEG for additional comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Delevingne is a proud member of the LGBT community and has been vocal about her own stance advocating for gun control. So, these reports that Anschutz was allegedly pro-gun and anti-LGBT did not sit well with her. In an interview with Vogue UK in August 2016, she told the magazine that she was sexually fluid. When the convo turned to her then-relationship with Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent), Delevingne declared that she was “completely in love” with the singer. She went on to say, “[Her parents] have been so, so supportive. I’m obviously in love, so if people want to say I’m gay, that’s great. But we’re all liquid — we change, we grow. “
She’s also been a big supporter of the gun control movement, as evidenced by her Instagram account. On Feb. 20, she posted a photo in support of Emma Gonzalez, one of the Parkland school shooting survivors, who has been a vocal advocate for increased gun control. Delevingne hashtagged her social media post “#wemuststandtogether.”
Clearly, Delevingne believes that boycotting the festival is the right thing to do regardless of what fans say. And, like she said, that decision does not mean that she can’t enjoy some of that electrifying Beyoncé performance.
