Singer Neha Kakkar was caught in the middle of a major controversy in March this year after she arrived three hours late at a concert in Melbourne, broke down on stage, and later revealed that she was scammed and not paid for the event. However, two Australian event planners have now gone on record and have stated that the singer was lying and that it was she who refused to perform as there was an audience of only 700 at the venue.
Speaking to Siddharth Kannan, Australia rapper and event host Pace D said, "I spoke to the organiser. That’s when I found out that she didn’t arrive on time and there were multiple delays. He told me that she kept saying things like, ‘I won’t go now, I won’t do this'."
Pace D added that looking at the crowd, Neha told the organisers, "Only 700 people? Until more people come in and this place fills up, I’m not going to perform," causing further delay.
Pace D and Bikram Singh Randhawa also reacted to Neha's allegations against the event organisers that they did not provide her with basic amenities like hotel, food and water, and that they "ran away" with her money. "Where was she staying if there was no hotel? She was traveling in a G Wagon. Even before the artiste flies to Australia, they are fully paid. 100 percent, she was paid in advance, this is something very basic in Australia," they said.
Neha is yet to react to their claims.
On March 23, Neha was set to perform in Melbourne. However, she turned up almost three hours late, and later broke down in tears on stage, thanking the audience for waiting for her. As netizens slammed her and called her unprofessional, she issued a statement saying that she was conned by the event managers.
"Do you know that I performed for absolutely free for my Melbourne audience? The organisers ran away with my money and others too. My band was not even given food, hotel, and even water," a part of her statement read.
The organisers, on the other hand, claimed that incurred heavy losses due to Neha's delayed performance and that they have also been banned from performing at several venues across Australia.
