Peter Gabriel

First-time Oscar nominee Peter Gabriel’s opting out of his performance at this year’s presentation. The star, up for best original song, decided not to sing WALL-E’s “Down to Earth” when he found out the song would be shortened to only 65 seconds.

“It’s a bit unfortunate because the songwriters, even though they’re a small part of the whole filmmaking process, we still work bloody hard and deserve a place in the ceremony as well,” Gabriel announced on his website. “I’m an old fart and it is not going to do me any harm to make a little protest, but I think for some of the other artists it is not so easy.”

The singer, 59, still plans to attend the show but hopes a gospel choir will take his place onstage.

From Hollywood.com