Taylor Swift Pulls Out Of Melbourne Cup Performance After Animal Rights Protests

Pop-star Taylor Swift has cancelled her performance at Australia’s Melbourne Cup for the fall. Swift was scheduled to perform at the Victoria Racing Club on November 5, as she embarks on a tour to promote her new album Lover.

Michael Gudinski from Mushroom Events, the company organizing the cup, released a statement online offering their regrets.

“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,” Gudinski wrote.

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Chief Executive Officer Neil Wilson of the Victoria Racing Club, 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.”

Though, the cancellation is being pegged as a scheduling conflict, animal rights activists seem to be taking credit for the change in the lineup.

At the beginning of September, when Swift’s performance was announced, animal right’s activists and groups had called on Swift to pull out of the event.

The animal rights group Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses has been vocal in the situation, posting earlier this month on their Facebook page.

“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. 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… If Taylor Swift cares at all about other animals the way she appears to care about cats, she will cancel her show and make a strong statement that animal abuse is unacceptable.”

The group then, took to Twitter asking her to cancel her performance with its #NupToTheCup hashtag.

Though neither Swift or the Melbourne Cup have confirmed the animal rights activists role in the cancellation, the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses praised Swift’s decision in a Facebook post Saturday.

“THANK YOU TAYLOR! We are absolutely delighted with the news. The pressure on Taylor Swift to cancel her performance was significant. Her fans did not want to see her supporting animal abuse. Whilst the reason being used by the racing industry is a scheduling mix up, it appears to us that she has responded to those calls.”

In addition, PETA Press Outreach Manager Moira Colley said in a statement to Rolling Stone that “Taylor Swift dumped the Melbourne Cup, and PETA couldn’t be happier. The event is riddled with horse breakdowns and death and is linked to the bloody horse-slaughter industry, which PETA most recently exposed in South Korea. None of this cruelty is consistent with the kind person we know Taylor to be.”