By Chris Robertson, news reporter
Rapper Stormzy has pulled out of his appearance at an Austrian music festival, after accusing organisers of racial profiling – just hours before he was due to step on stage.
Stormzy, real name Michael Omari Owuo Jr, told fans in a series of Instagram story posts that his friends and manager were stopped by security who had "reason to believe someone was carrying a weapon" in his group.
He added that security were "physically aggressive" and that there was no effort by the festival to deal with the problems.
The Glastonbury headliner said: "My sincerest apologies to anyone who travelled all that way to watch me perform.
"I'm genuinely upset that you've wasted your time and money and that burns me more than you'd know.
Advertisement
"The last ever thing I wanna do is let down anyone who's taken time out to support me."
The south London musician added: "However if these are the drastic steps that I need to take to make a point against racism and racial profiling then trust me I'm taking it."
More from Austria
The 25-year-old was set to headline Snowbombing festival in Austria, which takes place at the ski resort of Mayrhofen in the Alps.
A spokesperson for the festival said they were "deeply saddened" by the announcement, but claimed that staff had "acted in accordance with protocol" at the event.
They added that Stormzy was not on the site at the time of the incident.
[contf] [contfnew] 
Sky News
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
