Jessica Mauboy Says Panic Attack Caused Her No-Show At Melbourne Cup

Singer Jessica Mauboy has revealed that a panic attack caused her to pull out of singing the national anthem at the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, just minutes before she was set to take the stage. 

It was initially rumoured that a "styling miscommunication" was the reason behind the 26-year-old artist's no-show and in an interview with news.com.au, Mauboy confirmed that it was indeed backstage squabbles that resulted in her pulling out of the performance at Flemington racecourse. 

"Four minutes before I am about to be walked out from the green room, people on one side are bickering with people on another side and it started to suffocate me, it was crazy and I didn't know what to do," Mauboy said.

"It was the scariest moment ever. Before every performance, you need at least half an hour to focus on what you are about to do, the walk-on and walk-off, the lyrics, how you are going to sing it, like the original or bring your own personal flavour to it, how are you going to make it the best."

"All I could feel was all the bad energy coming from people, time stopped and I could see it all going on around me, I could see me stuck on the lounge and I'm thinking ‘Why aren't you getting up and getting going?’ It was really horrible."

Mauboy's backing singer Nadia Aya was called up in her absence and was given just 30 seconds to prepare.

While Victorian Racing Club President Simon Lowe said he was "disappointed" by Mauboy's no-show, her management released a statement shortly after saying that the artist was "deeply apologetic".

"There was a lot going on yesterday and there was miscommunication with her styling team, unfortunately by the time it was resolved the call time had been missed," the statement read.

"Known for her professionalism and her incredible work ethic, Jess is deeply apologetic and devastated that she disappointed fans and racegoers and wasn't able to perform at such a prestigious event."