Lil Wayne has been denied entrance to the UK for a festival performance this weekend, with organisers replacing him with Grammy-winning rapper Ludacris, at the last minute.
The 39-year-old rapper was scheduled to perform at the Strawberries & Creem festival this weekend at Childerley Orchard in Cambridge, but the organisers have said that the Home Office have not allowed Wayne into the country.
The news was announced on the festival's Instagram page, on which they shared a statement about the enforced headliner change.
The statement read: "Due to extreme circumstances beyond our control or influence, we are very sorry to inform you that Lil Wayne is now unable to perform at the festival on Saturday 18th June."
The organisers went on to say they were "deeply disappointed" with the decision.
The statement continued: "Lil Wayne has been refused entry to the UK directly by the Home Office in a last minute decision.
"We are deeply disappointed by this sudden and negative ruling.
"We have received very minimal notice, and the timing of the decision is of course upsetting for all involved – including Lil Wayne’s fans, as well as the festival team.”
Announcing the replacement for Lil Wayne, organisers wrote: "We have brought in Grammy-winning rapper LUDACRIS to play a UK EXCLUSIVE set on Saturday 18th June.
"He joins Tion Wayne, Mabel, Wilkinson, special guests and more on Saturday – with Tems, Knucks, David Rodigan and more on Sunday.
"Additionally, the team would also like to offer ticket holders a free ticket for Sunday 19th June, or a discount on tickets for next year's festival."
The statement concluded: "In absence of any statement from Lil Wayne, we would like to apologise to everyone who was coming to see him perform at S&C. We look forward to welcoming the iconic Ludcacris to the stage instead."
The absence of Lil Wayne has brought a mixed response from those going to the festival.
One performer, President T, urged the Home Office to "sort it out" as he said the decision was denying Wayne his "livelihood".
He wrote in the comments: " @ukhomeoffice sort it out ladies and gentlemen over there please. The fans and myself wanted to see @liltunechi at work on stage working the crowd good vibez and furthermore keep in mind this is his JOB and livelihood."
Others were not so happy with the new headline act, with one upset festival goer commenting: "Ludacris as a replacement for Lil Wayne is a slap in the face - people only bought the ticket to see Lil Wayne."
Another simply wrote: "Refund please."
While others were overjoyed, with one fan exclaiming: "LUDAAAAAAAAA. Yeh I’m excited anyway. Mad turnaround! let’s have fun".
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