Overview
- The Strokes, which closed the main stage Saturday, finished with “Oblivius” and a multi‑minute video that accused the CIA of regime change and ended with captions about strikes on universities in Iran and the “last university” in Gaza.
- The montage named leaders tied to coups or deaths, including Mohammad Mossadegh, Jacobo Árbenz, Patrice Lumumba, Salvador Allende and Omar Torrijos, and it flashed an image of Martin Luther King Jr. with a civil‑trial claim that the Justice Department later said lacked evidence.
- Coachella’s official YouTube stream carried the sequence in full, clips racked up millions of views, and online reaction split between praise for speaking out and criticism of the message and timing.
- The festival had not issued a public response by Sunday, some reposts were removed on social platforms, and YouTube confirmed it recently took down an Iran‑based “Lego” propaganda channel that Julian Casablancas referenced onstage.
- The band’s album remains due June 26 with a world tour to follow, and they are still booked for Goldenvoice’s Just Like Heaven in August, underscoring how festivals have lately aired overt political statements, as with Kneecap at Coachella last year.