Entertainment

Walmart Had the Best Show You Weren't Invited To

by Caroline Pate

For their annual corporate shareholder meeting, Walmart went a little bigger than powerpoints and charts. They got an entire arena full of about 14,000 people in Fayetteville, Ark., and had Walmart concert with some of the biggest names in music. In between presentations, stockholders were treated to a number of performances from some of Billboard's Top 200. In a sense, it's not too different from modern festivals like Coachella or Lollapalooza: huge corporate sponsorship paired with big-name artists.

However, the only depressing moments in music festivals are usually brought on by a comedown from Molly, not from employee protests. The day of the shareholders meeting, protesters gathered outside the house of Rob Walton, the chairman of the company's board. Meanwhile, their grievances were brought to the shareholders meeting by worker's unions, who spoke on behalf of the many Walmart employees who do not earn a living wage. They offered a proposal to oust Walton, but the proposal was struck down.

Maybe in that sense, its not unlike a music festival: the privileged get to dance and forget their problems while everyone around them struggles to earn a living wage (after all, who else can afford tickets to a music festival for a couple hundred bucks?). But hey, who needs wage equality when you have artists like these, am I right?

Pharrell

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That's right, the man with the most-played song on the radio performed at a corporate shareholder's meaning. But the best part is the crushing irony as he made his way off stage and said: “Put your hands together for Walmart, guys, for making the world a happier place!”

Robin Thicke

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Weirdly, this is definitely the least despicable things that Robin Thicke has done, yet MSNBC said his representative still declined to comment on the event.

Sarah Mclachlan

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Apparently, there are only two organizations in this world that Sarah McLachlan will sing for: the sad-eyed puppies at the ASPCA and our glorious corporate overlords at Walmart.

Harry Connick Jr.

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Crooning his way into your heart and into a Walmart near you.

Aloe Blacc

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Well really, how can you blame him? The man needs a dollar.