Billionaire Who Owns Coachella Has Helped Fund Anti-Gay Hate Groups

Phillip Anschutz’s Hater Politics A Reason To Pass On Coachella Passes

Over the past few days social media has been abuzz over the 2017 Coachella lineup, which includes Beyonce, Radiohead, Kendrick Lamar, Future, Travis Scott, Schoolboy Q and Gucci Mane as some of the acts performing… Social media is now on fire for another reason entirely, as many festival lovers are learning that the man who owns AEG (owners of Coachella operators Goldenvoice) has some pretty bad politics — including donating HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS to an anti-gay hate group.

Afro-Punk reveals:

Philip Anschutz is the billionaire machine behind Coachella and his politics are icky, sticky with the slime of the swamp that folks like president-elect Trump loves to associate with. Anschutz owns AEG, the entertainment and sports company only second to Live Nation in its reach, with investments in the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Kings and the Staples Center to name a few. But really where his money is doing the most damage is in his support of socially conservative causes. ProgressNow Colorado’s executive director Ian Silverii was quoted saying, “Phil Anschutz’s extensive influence in Colorado politics has been known for years, but the degree of his support for anti-LGBTQ groups that fund extremist hate groups like Gordon Kligenschmitt’s ‘Pray in Jesus Name’ is shocking.” In even more covert efforts, the Anschutz Foundation gave $110,000 to Alliance Defending Freedom, $50,000 to National Christian Foundation, and $30,000 to Family Research Council between 2010 and 2013, all of which have been known to support prejudice against LGBTQ efforts.Since 2008, the Anschutz Foundation has donated $175,000 to the Mission America Foundation, a far-right organization whose president considers homosexuality to be a “deviance.” Anschutz’ Walden Media group funds films that support his political views as well, funding “Won’t Back Down” and “Waiting For Superman” which are pro-charter school and anti-teachers union. To add insult to injury, Greenpeace notes that media companies owned by Anschutz figure prominently in the denial of climate science and the promotion of climate-change skepticism and even went as far as suing a small town for their regulations on fracking, but eventually lost the case.

According to Jezebel:

Mission America Coalition—has been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its promotion of travel restrictions for HIV-positive citizens, among other radically right-wing views. Anschutz was also a major backer of Colorado’s Prop 2, which passed and would have broadly legalized discrimination against LGBTQ people before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional.

In other words, Anschutz is taking the money you are handing him for Coachella tickets and using it toward causes you probably (if you are gay, have gay friends, are a teacher, have friends who are teachers, if you care about the environment, drinking water etc…) hate.

Now that you know this — will you continue to support Coachella and other AEG events? Or will you take a stance and pass on these events as a political statement.

In the case of Coachella it may already be too late, as we’re hearing passes are already sold out. But this is still good information. We’re just wondering if people are WOKE enough to properly process…

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