WASHINGTON: American rapper Kanye West, whose name has been hovering over social media for several months, is again in the headlines owing to his decision to pull out of Coachella.
As reported by Variety, the reason for his cancellation is not clear yet, but it is speculated that Kanye had not rehearsed and was unprepared for his performance.
His decision comes as a surprise as the prestigious annual event is just 11 days away, and it's unclear as to which artist would replace Kanye for his set. This announcement comes after a controversial past few months, where the rapper had also been barred from a planned appearance at the Grammy Awards, held earlier this Sunday, due to his 'concerning online behaviour.'
The controversy blew when Kanye publicly attacked Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson online following Kim's divorce from West.
Kanye, who was slated to perform at Coachella on April 17 and 24, had previously cancelled the closing dates of his 2016 Saint Pablo tour, and was hospitalised shortly afterwards. He had accepted it multiple times that he suffers from bipolar disorder, and the pattern of incidents establish the shift in his behaviour in recent months.
Coachella, having been headlined by Kanye in 2011, is North America's largest music festival and has already sold out 125,000 per-day tickets.
The music festival scheduled to be held at the Empire Polo Ground in Indio, California, begins next week on April 15, with Billie Eilish and Harry Styles headlining the highly celebrated global event.