America pop-star Taylor Swift has cancelled her performance at the 2019 Melbourne Cup after receiving backlash from mal rights activists.
Earlier the controversial Australian horse racing event announced that the 29-year-old Grammy winner would be headlining in early September but later they revealed on Saturday that she pulled out.
The 'Love Story' singer's decision of not performing comes after mal rights activists criticized her on social media for "endorsing mal abuse" by agreeing to perform, reported Fox News.
Michael Gudinski from the orgsing committee said in a statement online, "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."
Victoria Racing Club (VRC) Chief Executive Officer Neil Wilson added, "The VRC has learned that Taylor Swift is now unable to make the trip to Australia and therefore cannot be with us on Melbourne Cup Day. Obviously, this is disappointing for everyone. We understand how important the pre-Cup entertainment is and we look forward to providing an update shortly."
After Swift's name was attached to the event, mal rights group 'Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses', took to Twitter asking her to cancel her performance with its #NupToTheCup hashtag.
Until now six horses have died while racing in the Melbourne Cup, including an Irish racehorse that was euthzed on the racetrack last year after breaking its shoulder.
"Taylor Swift has put money before compassion by agreeing to perform at the 2019 Melbourne Cup. An event where at least 6 horses have been KILLED over the past 6 years," the activist group wrote on Facebook.
"With such huge success already, she could easily afford to not only say NO but use the opportunity to help the horses by speaking up against horse cruelty in the racing industry," they continued. "If Taylor Swift cares at all about other mals the way she appears to care about cats, she will cancel her show and make a strong statement that mal abuse is unacceptable."
( With inputs from ANI )