Keli Holiday Drops Out Of Gig At Horse Races Amid Online Backlash: ‘This Was A Bad Idea’
Keli Holiday has withdrawn from his slated performance at a horse racing event in Sydney after receiving mass backlash over his decision to support the controversial industry.
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The musician was announced on Tuesday as a performer on the first day of The Championships at Royal Randwick, which is slated for April 4, but organisers have since revealed his removal from the lineup.
“The scheduled performance by Keli Holiday at The Championships Day 1 has been cancelled,” the Australian Turf Club wrote on social media on Wednesday. “Keli Holiday’s management has informed ATC of his decision to withdraw from the performance.”
A replacement act in the wake of the withdrawal has not yet been announced.
It comes 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 in response to the Melbourne Cup in 2022. “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” in a statement provided to Sky News.
PEDESTRIAN.TV has reached out to Keli Holiday for comment.
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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