Originally included in the annual Nightmare Before Christmas specials at the Hollywood Bowl scheduled this past weekend, Halsey quietly dropped out recently due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
On October 10, the superstar singer (born Ashley Nicolette Frangipane) was announced as a special guest playing the role of Sally and performing “Sally’s Song” in composer Danny Elfman’s popular “live-to-film” versions of the 1993 Halloween/Christmas classic.
In honor of the 30th anniversary of the film, Halsey was scheduled to perform on Friday (10.27) and Saturday (10.28,) with actress Catherine O’Hara (the original voice of Sally) taking over on Sunday (10.29.) However, just days prior to the the shows, the event alerted ticket holders that Halsey had dropped out of the performances.
In recent years, artists like Billie Eilish and Phoebe Bridgers portrayed Sally in the Elfman-led Nightmare Before Christmas concerts. However, those performances came before the musician was accused of sexual misconduct in a pair of Rolling Stone reports.
In July of this year, Elfman was sued by fellow musician Nomi Abadi, who alleged that the composer failed to fully pay the agreed-upon $830,000 when they both signed the settlement agreement five years ago stemming from allegations of sexual harassment against Elfman.
On October 19, just nine days after Halsey was announced as a Nightmare Before Christmas guest, a second woman came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Elfman. A lawsuit filed that same day stated that “Jane Doe” claimed that Elfman frequently exposed himself to her and allegedly told her that he masturbated next to her while she was asleep and couldn’t consent to the act.
Halsey, who read a poem at the 2018 Women’s March about her own experiences with sexual assault, has yet to comment on her decision not to participate in Nightmare absence and therefore it is unclear whether the lawsuits had any impact on the singer’s decision to drop out on the performances.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, a representative for Elfman denied all the allegations saying “The allegations of misconduct made against Mr. Elfman are baseless and absurd. His legal team is assessing all options and he will vigorously defend these claims in court.”
“It’s important to this Jane Doe that Nomi knows she’s not alone anymore, that what was done to her by Elfman mirrors in so many ways what was done to Nomi,” Attorney Jeff Anderson, representing both Abadi and the Jane Doe, told Rolling Stone, adding that the woman spoke out to send a message to those who “made efforts to destroy the lives of others who found the courage to speak up.”
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Sachyn