The Anschutz company, which owns Coachella through concert giant AEG Live, donated $75,000 to an association advocating an anti-abortion program.
On June 24, the day the Supreme Court quashed Roe v. Wade, the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) issued an urgent appeal to its supporters: Every donation will help Republican attorneys general fight the Democrats’ pro-abortion agenda and defend life “. A few days later, on June 29, the Anschutz Corporation, a massive holding company that owns live music giant AEG Presents, the parent company of several major festivals, including Coachella, donated $75,000 to the same association. The RAGA is preparing for election season in an effort to install attorneys general who will enforce and defend anti-abortion laws in key states where abortion rights remain in limbo, such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida. Arizona, Ohio and Florida.
The Anschutz Corporation told Rolling Stone donating to RAGA since 2014 and that “ [à] Personally, Philip F. Anschutz believes in a woman’s right to choose and did not support Roe’s repeal. »
RAGA’s opposition to abortion rights is well established. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, a member of RAGA, was in charge of the legal strategy to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, the case that led to the repeal of Roe. In July 2021, 24 of the 26 other members of RAGA signed a text where it is written: “ The Court’s precedent on abortion is flawed, inconsistent, patchy and unreliable. Roe and Casey should be canceled. »
AEG Presents and its subsidiary Goldenvoice (which presents Coachella and Stagecoach) are just two stars in the huge galaxy of Anschutz Corporation holdings. Still, it’s remarkable that Anschutz’s proceeds help fund an anti-abortion charity as headliners at festivals like Coachella have fiercely criticized the Supreme Court’s decision.
After a draft court notice leaked in May, at least 15 performers who performed at Coachella this year (including Billie Eilish, Megan Thee Stallion and Phoebe Bridgers) signed a full-page ad in the New York Times condemning the actions of the Court.
In a statement to Rolling StoneAEG responded as follows: “ AEG, AEG Presents, Goldenvoice and its other subsidiaries, as one company, strongly support women’s right to choose. As the owner and producer of many of the most inclusive festivals and venues on the planet, we have taken steps to make our position on this matter clear. On June 28, in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade and with the full support of The Anschutz Corporation, we have informed all of our employees that we will cover travel and accommodation costs for women who must leave their state to receive reproductive health services, including abortion. We remain, as always, committed to choice, freedom and access to all health options for women. »
As of March 2022, records show that the Anschutz Corporation also contributed a combined $750,000 to the Senate Leadership Fund and the House Leadership Fund, which aim to return Republicans to control of the House and Senate.
The Anschutz Corporation, owned by 82-year-old billionaire Philip Anschutz, has drawn a lot of attention in the past for its donations to far-right groups. In 2017, Anschutz came under fire following his foundation allegedly made donations to anti-LGBTQ groups, including the Alliance Defending Freedom, the National Christian Foundation and the Family Research Council. At the time, Anschutz said he would stop funding any group involved in anti-LGBTQ activities. And if contributions to the aforementioned groups have indeed ceased, Pitchfork reported in 2018 that Anschutz still gives money to smaller organizations with anti-LGBTQ backgrounds.
The upcoming election in Wisconsin is a clear example of the importance of attorney general elections in a post-Roe world. The current state attorney general, Democrat Josh Kaul, said he ” would not investigate and prosecute anyone who would violate the state law of 1849 prohibiting abortion, which remained in effect but was not enforced following the Roe ruling in 1973. Kaul also recently sued to block the ban following the Supreme Court overturned the ruling.
The three Republicans who are seeking to dethrone Kaul in November have all said they would enforce the state’s abortion ban if elected. And whoever wins the Republican primary for attorney general next month, the Republican Association of Attorneys General will be ready to help, having already set aside $682,250 in TV ad time for spots opposing Kaul, which will air in October and November.
Judd Legum and Jon Blistein, story published in partnership with Popular Information
Translated by the editor