The petition to pull Kanye West from this year's Glastonbury Festival is close to its goal of 150,000 signatures, even though ticket holders aren’t demanding refunds in droves. 

More than 90,000 people have signed the Change.org petition, since earlier in the week. It reads in part, “Kanye West is an insult to music fans all over the world. We spend hundreds of pounds to attend glasto, and by doing so, expect a certain level of entertainment.” 

                     | CLICK HERE TO SEE 10 ARTISTS INFLUENCED BY KANYE WEST |
The man behind the digital protest admitted to being a Glastonbury "virgin," but that doesn’t change his position. Neil Lonsdale is a self-professed “rock kid,” and he doesn’t see a place for Ye among the marquee acts at the UK festival. "My beef is not with the genre,” he said in an interview with NME.com. “My beef is with the stage and the fact it's a headline slot."  

He added that West's music is “lyrically appalling,” and that he "totally disrespected Beck." Lonsdale’s motivation, however, has nothing to do with race. “It doesn't matter if you're Black, white, straight, gay. If you behave like Kanye, you've got to expect some opposition."

The petition was launched as a “joke,” but now that it’s international news, Lonsdale figures West can handle himself: “I don't think it would make a difference if 200,000 people signed it. Anyway, Kanye's a big boy; I'm sure he can take a bit of banter.”

Emily Eavis, daughter of Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis, defended West in the UK's  Guardian newspaper. She noted that only four additional customers requested refunds a day after West was announced as a headliner. “The overwhelming majority of our 135,000 ticket-holders are clearly not too concerned by that particular two-hour slot on one of the 100 stages at our five-day event,” wrote Eavis. 

“Our message to the man who started the petition is that like any other ticket-holder, he is very welcome to get a refund,” she added. “But better still, come to the festival and open your mind to some wonderful music and performances from all corners of the world.”  

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(Photo: A. Ariani/Splash News)