Taylor Swift is no longer performing at the Melbourne Cup in Australia following outcry from animal rights activists.
The “Lover” singer, 29, was scheduled to perform at the annual horse race on Nov. 5 as the event’s headliner. On Saturday, however, The Victoria Racing Club, which hosts the cup, announced Swift would “no longer be able to perform” due to “a recent change to Taylor Swift’s Asian promotional tour.”
”Michael Gudinski from Mushroom Events said, ‘Regrettably, Taylor is no longer able to make it to this year’s Melbourne Cup. Changes to her Asian promo schedule have made it logistically impossible for her to be here. To all of Taylor’s fans, we hope to see Taylor in Australia in 2020,’ “ the statement read.
The announcement comes after animal rights activists urged Swift to cancel her performance shortly after it was announced earlier this month.
”@taylorswift13, please cancel your Melbourne Cup performance and instead use your voice to take a stand against animal abuse and say #NupToTheCup,” The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses shared on Twitter.
A Change.org petition titled “Ask Taylor Swift to Say #NupToTheCup” has also garnered over 6,000 signatures.
Though Swift has not acknowledged any connection between the protests and her cancelation, the coalition thanked her on Twitter Saturday following the news.
”Thank you @taylorswift13,” the tweet read. “Fans took to Twitter last week calling on the artist to please change her mind and say #NupToTheCup. We are confident she has made this decision based on her love for animals and are very grateful to her for her cancellation.”
Thank you @taylorswift13
— Horse Racing Kills (@hrseracingkills) September 21, 2019
Fans took to Twitter last week calling on the artist to please change her mind and say #NupToTheCup. We are confident she has made this decision based on her love for animals and are very grateful to her for her cancellation. https://t.co/tbR67Jl7Ng
Read more at usatoday.com.
