Coachella owner continues to make political donations to Republican causes
This piece was originally published by Them.
The company behind music festivals like Coachella, Stagecoach and Firefly continues to funnel tens of thousands of dollars to right-wing causes, according to a report on Monday.
The Anschutz Corporation, owner of live entertainment company AEG Presents, donated $75,000 to the Association of Republic Attorneys General (RAGA) just five days after the Supreme Court ruling. reversed Roe vs. Wadeaccording to a new report published in rolling stone in partnership with the newsletter Popular information. RAGA’s mission is to elect and re-elect Republican Attorneys General, and currently seeks to advocate for elected officials who will enforce anti-abortion laws in states where abortion rights are still undecided, such as Wisconsin, Michigan , Arizona, Ohio and Florida, according to rolling stone. The report also revealed that Anschutz Corporation donated a total of $750,000 to two Republican super PACs, the Senate Leadership Fund and the House Leadership Fund, in March. The PACs aim to regain Republican control of Congress.
Philip Anschutz, the 82-year-old billionaire who owns the company, “believes in a woman’s right to choose and did not support the overthrow of Roe,” Anschutz Corporation said in a statement to Rolling stone. “Neither The Anschutz Corporation (TAC), nor Mr. Anschutz, has received, seen or was aware of any solicitation for funding from the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) based on the overturning of Roe v. Wade,” the company said. They also included that Anschutz’s donation was not “based on, informed by, or motivated by any RAGA position on Roe or abortion.”
However, as rolling stone note, RAGA’s position on abortion is well known. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who is a member of RAGA, is said to have been behind the legal strategy used in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organizationwho was ultimately responsible for the overthrow deer. Additionally, 24 of the other 26 Republican RAGA attorneys general signed an amicus brief in support of Fitch in 2021.
Anschutz’s donations have got him and Coachella in hot water in the past. The CEO has made numerous donations to explicitly anti-LGBTQ+ causes and came in first under fire for doing it in 2018. A 2017 tax return revealed Philip Anschutz’s philanthropic organization had donated $1,020,000 at Colorado Christian University and Sky Ranch Christian Camps, both of which have made explicitly anti-LGBTQ+ statements.
