Artist Pulls Out of Coachella Weekend Two Following Guitar-Smashing Controversy

There's a big change in the Coachella lineup this weekend following backlash from weekend one.

After drawing controversy for smashing his guitar on stage, AP Dhillon has pulled out of this weekend's lineup. During his set, he destroyed his metallic gold ESP LTD Kirk Hammett V guitar while performing a dramatic section of his show.

Following his set on the Sahara stage last Sunday, the Indo-Canadian artist took to social media to seemingly compare himself to the late Kurt Cobain.

Now, leading up to the second weekend of Coachella, AP Dhillon has pulled out of the lineup, citing a "scheduling conflict" as to why he is not returning.

"Due to a scheduling conflict AP Dhillon is unable to join us in the desert for Weekend 2," the California-based music festival posted on their X, formerly Twitter, account this week.

Those responding to the post on social media did not seem to mind, with some also calling for Grimes to be removed after her disastrous DJ set during the festival.

"Smashed a guitar on stage, got schooled by a section of people on the internet and then possibly choked out for weekend 2," one user said. "His @LollaIndia set was pretty mid & he clearly didn't deserve to be in the desert."

At the end of his performance, the rapper and singer smashed his guitar. The wannabe-rocker move led to widespread backlash on social media, many stating that it was "not cool at all" to break something that had provided him "with life, love, peace, success, and respect."

"Pop artists break guitars to look cool. They try to imitate rock/metal artists not realising that they break their guitars out of the adrenaline rush and intensity of playing the instrument," one user slammed. "It always hurts to see the poor instrument face the wrath of these wannabes."

While it had previously been a common practice in the genre to break your instrument at the end of a concert, many have backtracked on their past actions as they are now deemed as wasteful. It was a common practice for Red Hot Chili Peppers artist Flea, but he even regrets his past habits.

"Feel like such an idiot for smashing my bass to pieces on stage back in the day, pathetic," he posted on X after the controversy.

As social media backlash ensued, Dhillon took to his Instagram account to share a video montage of Kurt Cobain smashing his guitar in a similar fashion.

"The media is controlled and I'm out of control," he captioned the post.

Many took issue with the comparison, considering that Dhillon is not a rock artist. Responses scolded him for not being reverent to the musician's legacy.

"No you can't compare your act with Kurt the Legend Cobain. He played pure rock and grunge with some badass riffs! Whereas you played some basic G family chords on capo with on the 3 fret! There's a difference. Moreover, one should never forget their roots," a critic commented on Instagram.

The second weekend of Coachella kicks off Friday with headliner Lana Del Rey. The weekend will also feature more performances from Doja Cat, No Doubt, Renee Rapp, Victoria Monet, Chappell Roan, Tyler the Creator, Sabrina Carpenter, and more.