Australia has pressured pop star Vassy to withdraw from the Intervision song contest in Moscow at the last moment, the organizers said.

Born Vasiliki Karagiorgos, the singer, who holds both Australian and US citizenship, was slated to represent the US in the televised competition on Saturday.

“For reasons beyond the control of the organizers and the US delegation, and due to unprecedented political pressure from the Australian government, singer Vassy will not be able to perform in the contest’s final show,” the organizers announced on the contest’s website just hours before the event.

According to the organizers, Australia had “issued an official note addressed to the artist” earlier that same day. 

The organizers said Intervision “remains outside politics and is dedicated solely to the development of arts and international cooperation.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, a member of the contest’s supervisory board, said the organizers are “not striving for any political effect.”

Vassy has not commented on her abrupt exit, and Australia has made no public statements regarding her participation.

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