Severe thunderstorms forced the Black Eyed Peas to cancel a free benefit concert in New York's Central Park Thursday night, angering tens of thousands of fans who waited hours in the rain to see them perform.

The concert, which was being held to benefit the Robin Hood Foundation, an anti-poverty organization, was initially delayed a number of times, before lightning led to a last-minute cancellation.

"The heat wasn't going to stop them, the rain wasn't going to stop them, but the lightning — it stopped them," the Foundation said in a statement. "It came down to safety for everyone. Organizers are hoping to reschedule, so ticket buyers should hold onto their tickets. Robinhood.org will have information in the next week or so."

Fans were peeved by the cancellation - and rightly so, considering the concert's lineup also included Taylor Swift, Debbie Harry, LL Cool J and Natasha Bedingfield. As a result, Peas members will.i.am and Taboo took to their respective Twitters to express their condolences.

"I'm so sad the show got postponed," will.i.am said.

"Fergie is really sorry it's not happening we feel horrible," Taboo added. "We are devastated and Fergie told me to tweet this she loves u all ... I hope that the concert will be rescheduled ASAP, our pea-ple deserve it, my pea-ple from chase and robinhood deserve this NYC we love u."

[MTV]

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