Emily Eavis has defended Kanye West’s headline slot at Glastonbury festival.
Since announcing the ‘All Day’ rapper would be headlining the Saturday night of the five-day festival last week, more than 100,000 people have signed a petition to pull the controversial star’s performance, although festival organiser Emily believes he is "one of the greatest artists of his generation."
She said: "We think the story this year should not be: ‘Why is Kanye coming?’ but: ‘How amazing is it that Kanye is coming?’ One of the world’s biggest superstars and a music legend, always interesting, never boring.
"I’ve realised over the years of announcing line ups that, literally, whoever you reveal will be met with some hate online. I have such faith in humanity, but believe me, some of the vitriol being thrown around this week has made me question the dark underbelly of the web. Who are those people silently shouting in disgust, throwing out threats from behind their screens? It certainly isn’t pleasant to be on the receiving end of that. I can’t even imagine how it makes Kanye feel."
Despite the criticism, Emily – who has co-organised the festival alongside father Michael Eavis since 2000 – insisted they are excited about the festival, taking place at Worthy Farm, south west England, from June 24 – 28, which will also feature performances from Lionel Richie and Foo Fighters.
Writing in The Guardian newspaper, she said: "Ultimately, there is no question in my mind that we have got one of the greatest artists of his generation headlining, and we have no regrets at all about booking him.
"And we’ve got him coming to our farm! In rural Somerset! That’s great, right? I certainly can’t wait to see his performance."
Emily Eavis defends Kanye West Glastonbury decision
