Party On, Wayne

The Flaming Lips frontman is still jabbing

Remember when celebrities feuded via magazine interviews constantly? And how, because there were no DMs, it was the only way for them to really communicate with each other? We all got to bear witness to our favorite stars seeming mortal and flawed, and pick sides based on who had said what to a [Profile Writer] over [signature cocktail] at [a hotel bar].

I bring this up because Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne used an interview with “Newsweek” this week to toss some pettiness in Kanye West’s direction, and if that sounds like a sentence from the year 2004 to you, you are correct. But somehow all of this unfolded in February of 2017, and I for one am rejoicing.

When asked if he had any regrets about calling Kanye West a “pompous idiot” recently, Coyne said:

Well, no. It was around that time [when West said he would have voted for Trump]. He’s so connected with the Kardashians. Maybe he feels like he’s got to out-shock them. But I would tell Kanye, if I were around him again, I would say, “Dude, people like your music. Don’t make it so difficult to like you.…” It’s like, you know, dude, if you need attention that bad, go get it. Run for office yourself. I don’t care.

And when the interviewer reminded him that West had mentioned potentially running in 2020, Coyne replied:

I hope he does! I think it’d be fun. I think it’d be funny. I don’t think he’ll win. And I don’t think he’ll like it. I think he’d probably quit it like he quit his own tour.

Catty ego mess! From one commercially popular artist to another commercially popular artist! In print! Where the highest stakes are, Will Kanye read this and reply?

An offhanded jab like “when he quit his own tour” is a throwback to a simpler time, where we were bowling with bumpers on the lanes of celebrity. How delicious.