Halsey Quietly Dropped Out of Live ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ Performances Due to ‘Scheduling Conflict’

Just weeks after she was announced as a special guest slated to play the role of Sally in the annual live stage performance of Tim Burton’s Halloween classic The Nightmare Before Christmas, Halsey quietly pulled out of the production.

While no additional information was available at press time about her absence, a source close to the singer tells Billboard that they informed the production several weeks ago that they were unavailable for the performances due to an unspecified “scheduling conflict.” At press time spokespeople for Halsey and the Hollywood Bowl had not returned Billboard‘s request for additional information.

Earlier this month, the Grammy-nominated singer was tapped to celebrate the movie’s 30th anniversary at shows slated to take place on Oct. 27, 28 and 29. Halsey was slated to appear during the first two nights of the production, with Katherine O’Hara, who voiced the Sally character in the original film, reprising her role on Oct. 29. Other special guests scheduled for the anniversary performances included SNL alum Fred Armisen as Lock, Ken Page as Oogie Boogie and Riki Lindhome.

Composer Danny Elfman was scheduled to return to the live presentation as lead character Jack Skellington. Elfman composed the music for the 1993 stop-motion film, which centers around Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town. In October, Rolling Stone reported that Elfman was sued by a woman over allegations of sexual misconduct, less than two weeks after Halsey was announced as a guest star in the Nightmare show; RS earlier reported that Elfman was sued by a female musician who claimed sexual harassment and later sued again of his alleged failure to fully pay an agreed-upon $830,000 settlement. A rep for Elfman denied the allegations to RS, saying, “The allegations of misconduct made against Mr. Elfman are brless and absurd. His legal team is assessing all options and he will vigorously defend these claims in court.” 

The official Hollywood Bowl page for the show that was hosted by comedian Greg Proops no longer lists Halsey as a member of the ensemble; ticketholders were reportedly alerted just days before the show that Halsey would not be appearing in the role that in recent years has been played by artists including Billie Eilish and Phoebe Bridgers.