Missy Elliott On Supafest: "I Won't Be There"

Just as P Diddy's name disappeared from artwork advertising the forthcoming Supafest tour, Missy Elliott has also sparked online buzz by saying she won't be on the bill either.

An Australian fan (DJ Nicky M 730DIPS) tweeted Elliott to say how excited he was about seeing her at Supafest this month, where she is billed (misspelt as "Elliot") alongside Chris Brown, T Pain and Ice Cube.

Elliott tweeted back: "@DjNickyM baby I won't be there sowwy *hugz*"

The twitter chat also pointed at another artist on the bill pulling out. And Missy Elliott, prompted by DJ Nicky M, promised she would "hit the promoters up" to inform them to remove her name from the bill.

Phonecalls placed to the promoter were unanswered at the time of publishing.

UPDATE: Supafest have issued a press release confirming the cancellations of P Diddy and Missy Elliott.

In the release the promoters - Paperchase - wrote, "A considerable amount of investment was used to lure the best available talent, and also to invest in larger production and upgrading venue amenities. The sales for Supafest 2012 have been steady and look like they will surpass last year's attendances of 90,000, but in effect these numbers fall well short of the producers' expectations to ensure commercial viability. Consequently this has forced them to slightly modify the year's event to ensure the event's future.

"Paperchase are extremely disappointed P Diddy and Missy Elliott won't be joining the festival this year, but are hoping they can work with these legendary artists in the future."

The festival's producers Dwayne Cross and John Denison added, "We are very regretful of our decision to modify this year's festival artist bill and it came with great pains to both of us. People may not be aware but an artist such as P Diddy only performs a handful of shows a year and to have secured him to appear at our event was monumental."

They continued, "To those fans that we have disappointed, we apologize (sic)."

There is no mention of refunds on the statement.