If we’re lucky in the Opinion section, we work through our beliefs completely and support them with great arguments. But sometimes, we don’t need a deeper reason to hold our convictions. A Roundtable is for those short takes that can be explained in just a few sentences — no more justification needed.
In this week’s Roundtable, we want the section’s takes on one of the most iconic pop culture events of the year: Coachella. Coachella 2025 has just ended, and like every year, these past two weekends have not been without some controversy. First, people were kept waiting in excessively long lines with no access to food or water. Then, ticket structure changes caused privacy and safety issues for VIPs like James Charles. Despite everything that went wrong, the general public opinion was that creators who are wealthy enough to attend should not be complaining, as many people will never get the opportunity. So, what’s your opinion on Coachella 25? Are Coachella complainers out-of-touch?
Evelyn Pazan, Associate Opinion Editor:
While trying to assess whether I think it is appropriate for celebrities to complain about their Coachella experience, I realized that simply put, I don’t care. I do not care that the lines were long and nor do I care which outfit Alix Earle chose to wear on the third day. Coachella attendees, no matter their status, should expect some moments to be uncomfortable and imperfect. Everyone knows that festivals are extremely busy and unpleasant at times, and it amazes me that celebrities think that they are exempt from these experiences. If Coachella is too exhausting or scary for an influencer, then they just shouldn’t go. If someone asks why they didn’t attend, then that would be a more than valid explanation.
Patrick Minnerly, Weekly Columnist:
Unfortunately, modern-day Coachella is what happens when something gets much too famous for its own good. The event has fallen prey to the myriad influencers and celebrities who only want to say that they went. It is essentially a status symbol to attend, which makes the festival awful for anyone who actually wants to listen to music. The only act that I personally cared about on the lists was Laufey, who introduced her new single “Silver Lining” at the festival, which sounded incredible and once again proved that she can’t make a bad song. Other than that, Coachella is simply a celebrity event that’s not for the enjoyment of music.
Amber Greene, Contributor:
Nothing will be able to top Beychella. The level of fame of Beyoncé made it unbelievable that she would even agree to perform at the festival. There are so many iconic moments from her performance itself, from the Destiny’s Child reunion, to her now viral “Before I Let Go” cover and tribute to Divine 9 sororities and fraternities. The only performance since then that came only a little bit close was Harry Styles, but other than within his fan base, did not have that much of a cultural impact. Recently the headliners have not been “headliner” worthy or even memorable past the two weekends that they happened. I am ready for someone with A-List status to finally be back on the Coachella headliner stage and create an impact that will stay with me. The thousands of dollars for a ticket alone, not to mention food and Airbnb pricing make the festival need to be remarkable for people to get their money’s worth.
Julia Gillego, Contributor:
Personally, if I had the opportunity to attend Coachella, even if it was with a sponsored brand deal, I wouldn’t have any complaints. My only complaint would be Addison Rae’s weekend 2 Coachella “Von Dutch” performance with Charli XCX. I have nothing against Addison Rae – truly, no hate, I loved “Diet Pepsi”– but whoever was in charge of her mic seemed determined to sabotage her. Some of my friends and I think the whole thing was a publicity ploy to get people talking about her again. And honestly? It wouldn’t be surprising if it were part publicity stunt, part over-the-top humiliation ritual. There’s an iconic moment in the song where Rae lets out a high-pitched scream that’s normally buried under layers of autotune. But during her live performance at weekend 2, it sounded less like electro-pop star energy and more like she was fleeing from a horror movie killer. To top it all off, her Minnie Mouse outfit. Between that and the mic setup, it felt like her team was setting her up for a full-on Trina Vega moment.