Anthony Kiedis Explains His Whole Deal with Los Angeles

He's a spokesperson for the city ahead of the 2028 Olympics

Photo: Matt Forsythe

BY Alex HudsonPublished Aug 12, 2024

Maybe you don't know this, but Anthony Kiedis really likes Los Angeles, and California in general. Fittingly, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were recruited as one of the artists passing the Olympic Games from their current home in Paris to their next home in Los Angeles in 2028 — and this has given Kiedis an opportunity to explain why he loves L.A. so much.

As well as performing as part of the Olympic closing festivities — where the Chili Peppers did an unusually slow version of their funk rap hype-up banger "Can't Stop" — Kiedis appeared in a promo video in which he explained his fixation with L.A.

"The Red Hot Chili Peppers, at our essence, like to get in a room and make noise, and bring everything that we experience in life into what we do — and L.A. is definitely one of those dimensions," he said, with "Dani California" playing in the background.

He continued, "My favourite thing about L.A.? I love the ocean. I love the mountains. I love the palm trees. I love that people come here to try their hand at life. L.A., it still has a spirit. There's still a reason why the world is fascinated by everything L.A."

Certainly, if there's one person who knows about being fascinated with L.A., it's the writer of L.A. anthems like "Californication" and "Under the Bridge."

He even offered his services to Team USA for the 2028 Olympics. He said, "Our first record came out in '84, along with the L.A. Olympics, and it was an exciting time for music in L.A. It was still kind of the end of the punk rock scene, and the fact that it's coming here again, I would definitely look to be the starting point guard for Team USA Basketball." He'll be 65 years old by the time the next Summer Olympics gets underway — and, considering the ages of current team stars like Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and LeBron James, Kiedis might fit right in.

Other celebs who passed the Olympics from Paris to L.A. included Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Billie Eilish and Tom Cruise.

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