R&B star R. Kelly has been quick to react to a lawsuit brought against him by fellow performer Ne-Yo.
Ne-Yo has taken legal action against Kelly's touring company Rowe Entertainment claiming that Kelly dumped him from their 'Double Up' tour because fans preferred Ne-Yo.Ne-Yo played 2 gigs of the 25 date tour.
His suit was filed Monday in the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Ne-Yo was dropped from the tour just before Thanksgiving.
In a statement today, Kelly's lawyers said "The idea that R. Kelly had anything to do with Ne-Yo being dropped from the Double Up tour is just plain silly. As we said at the time, Ne-Yo was dropped because of a contractual dispute with the tour promoter, and in fact Ne-Yo is not suing Kelly but only the promoter. Ne-Yo may think blaming the situation on R. Kelly will improve his chances of collecting from the promoter, but if he does, he is sadly mistaken. Anyone remotely familiar with R. Kelly knows he is confident enough in his own abilities to be happy to share the stage with enormously talented people - the more talented, the better."
Kelly is reported to have said that he had nothing to do with Ne-Yo's sacking and that it was about a contractual issue with the promoter. According to the court documents, Ne-Yo alleges that Kelly had him dumped because both fans and critics preferred him to the headliner.
Ne-Yo expected to earn $785,000 from the tour. Instead, he was paid $50,000 for his two nights work.
The 'Double Up' tour will end in Hampton, Virginia on January 13.
