Twitter Reacts To Frank Ocean Abruptly Ending Coachella 2023 Performance: 'Horrific'

Frank Ocean's highly-anticipated headlining performance at Coachella 2023 Sunday night was cut short, leaving thousands of concertgoers disappointed.

The 35-year-old "Thinkin Bout You" singer was performing live for the first time in six years so the anticipation had been high for his set. But fans were unhappy after Ocean's set started almost an hour later than scheduled and ended after just an hour and 20 minutes due to Indio, California's imposed midnight curfew.

Fans and concertgoers took to Twitter to express their disappointment with Ocean and his Coachella performance's abrupt end.

"Ain't no way Frank Ocean showed up an hour late just for him to say he had a curfew," one user wrote on Twitter, alongside a clip of the singer announcing "the end of the show" and fans shouting "No."

Another commented, "No excuses. A performer needs to do the bare minimum and perform. If he can't handle it, that's fair, but you gotta just retire from live shows officially."

"I have never been happier that I didn't waste money to see Frank Ocean end Coachella like this...horrific," a third Twitter user wrote, while another said, "It was the worst performance by far."

"He had the power to handle the situation better, and he didn't. I can understand the disappointment his fans feel, but it was his first show back in years so maybe he felt anxious. It seems like his fight or flight kicked in, which would explain why he was late and ended early," a fifth user suggested.

One Coachella attendee with the TikTok handle @jaqlueen shared her experience on the platform, claiming that Ocean's performance and production were "lacking."

"People traveled such far distance to see him and people had high expectations [because] he hasn't played in six years, and we all got really disappointed. The whole production was just lacking, and he was really not bringing much to the whole performance," the TikTok user claimed, adding that Ocean performed only six songs.

Following his performance, rumors circulated that Ocean — born Christopher Edwin Breaux — nearly canceled his stint due to last-minute changes in the production.

Festival news and gossip account Festive Owl claimed to have learned from unnamed Coachella sources that the singer was supposed to have an ice rink during his performance, which had already been constructed before the first Coachella weekend.

"Frank decided at the last minute that he no longer wanted it at all. All of the people walking around him at the start of the performance were actually ice skaters, had been practicing for weeks, and were supposed to be skating as part of the production," it claimed on Twitter.

The sources claimed that Coachella's crew had to "deconstruct" the stage that had been prepared "months in advance," which ultimately led to the hour-long delay.

International Business Times could not independently verify the information. But an unnamed source close to the situation told Rolling Stone that Ocean's performance was adjusted at the last minute due to an ankle injury he sustained while rehearsing for his set in the week leading up to Coachella.

Ocean was initially slated to headline the Coachella music festival in 2020, but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He reportedly decided to perform at the festival this year to pay tribute to his younger brother, Ryan Moore, who passed away in 2020.

During his set Sunday, Ocean performed acoustic versions of his hit singles "Pink + White" and "Self Control," as well as remixes of "Solo" and "Chanel." He was the last headline performer of the weekend, following Bad Bunny, Blackpink and Calvin Harris.