Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula says Beyonce Knowles won't be performing at this year's sports awards after all.
According to a report in the Star on Tuesday, Mbalula said the idea of bringing the performer to South Africa had been dropped as it would take the focus away from athletes deserving recognition.
"This is why we dropped the Beyonce idea. It became politicised, funny songs were being sung about it in [the ANC], there were distortions about pricing, wild rumours," Mbalula told the newspaper.
"In the end it made me think about what we were trying to achieve here."
Beyonce's fee, reported to be R17-million an hour, would have been paid before the awards by corporate sponsors.
"The matter was blown out of proportion, so I made up my mind to cut it off right then. It wasn't something worth pursuing," the minister told the Star.
The awards are expected to be held in November. – Sapa