Keli Holiday has apologised after withdrawing from a slated performance at a horse racing event over backlash regarding the controversial industry.
The musician was set to perform on the first day of The Championships at Sydney’s Royal Randwick, slated for April 4, but organisers revealed on Wednesday that he had been removed lineup.
“The scheduled performance by Keli Holiday at The Championships Day 1 has been cancelled,” the Australian Turf Club wrote on social media. “Keli Holiday’s management has informed ATC of his decision to withdraw from the performance.”
The move came amid days of controversy regarding Keli’s involvement in the event, particularly in light of his girlfriend Abbie Chatfield‘s vocal opposition to horse racing and its ethical and animal welfare concerns.
“I thought we were done with the races,” Abbie said on social media during the 2022 Melbourne Cup. “I thought that wasn’t a thing anymore. Like, why are so many people going to the races? What the hell?”
Fans were quick to criticise the musician on social media, with one writing on Facebook that “Keli is educated enough to know how bad racing is” and claiming “there’s no way he lives with Abbie and didn’t know this was a bad idea”.
Before the cancellation, the ATC stood by its decision to enlist Keli as a performer, citing his “popularity with a young demographic” and ability to “bring new fans to the races”, per Sky News.
PEDESTRIAN.TV has reached out to Keli Holiday for comment.
On Thursday, Keli took to his Instagram Stories to apologise, saying his slated performance at the event was because of a “miscommunication”.
“Not playing the races FYI,” Keli wrote. “The gig was booked in this chaotic end of last year as a result of my miscommunication within my team and wasn’t the fault of ATC. Apologies all round.”
A replacement act in the wake of Keli’s withdrawal has not yet been announced.
Keli made headlines earlier this month when he said the online hate he receives over his relationship with Abbie had reached a “boiling point” in the form of death threats from his trolls.
Elsewhere, Keli’s track “Dancing2” placed second on Triple J’s Hottest 100 countdown last month, with the rest of his album Capital Fiction arriving this week.
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