Down in the desert! Lili Reinhart, Jared Leto and more celebrities braved the heat during Coachella 2022.
Like many major events, Coachella was forced to postpone its activities for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. The first weekend kicked off on April 15 with a headlining performance by Harry Styles — who brought out Shania Twain as a special guest.
“Music icon. Fashion icon. And true friend ❤️,” the Canadian country star captioned an Instagram snap alongside the “As It Was” crooner and his band. “I am honored and thrilled to have joined @harrystyles onstage for his @coachella debut. What a magical moment!! And I mean c’mon… WHAT A SHOW 🔥 I’m a huge fan! Grateful we got to create this memory together – Thank you Harry.”
Throughout the weekend, fans gathered to watch performances by Billie Eilish, The Weeknd, Carly Rae Jepsen, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat and more. Celebs showed off their fun-filled experiences via social media, giving their followers an inside look at the desert bash.
However, the festival didn’t come without its fair share of controversies. Kanye West was initially slated to headline, but he was replaced by Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd after the rapper withdrew from the lineup. Ahead of the event, nearly 50,000 people signed a petition to remove the Grammy winner from the festival after he released his “Eazy” music video, which depicted Pete Davidson being physically harmed. (The Saturday Night Live star is dating Kim Kardashian, who split from West in February 2021.)
“We have watched Kanye harass, manipulate, and hurt Kim, Pete, and others for over a year now. No one seems to want to stand up to him, and the ones that do, he puts under fire as well,” the Change.org petition read. “This is ridiculous that he is allowed to freely do this. Coachella (along with other brand names that are still working with him) should be ashamed of themselves and should not be giving him any more of a platform.”
West previously threatened not to perform at Coachella after feuding with Eilish on social media. In February 2022, the “Stronger” artist demanded that the Oscar winner apologize to Travis Scott for seemingly dissing his November 2021 Astroworld event, during which 10 people were killed.
“NO ONE INTENDED THIS TO HAPPEN TRAV DIDN’T HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING WHEN HE WAS ON STAGE AND WAS VERY HURT BY WHAT HAPPENED AND YES TRAV WILL BE WITH ME AT COACHELLA BUT NOW I NEED BILLIE TO APOLOGIZE BEFORE I PERFORM,” West wrote via Instagram at the time.
The “Happier Than Ever” artist, for her part, asserted in the comments that she “literally never said a thing about Travis.”
Despite the drama leading up to the festival, celebs from Amber Rose to Camila Mendes made the most of Coachella 2022. Scroll down to see the best pics:
