NE-YO - NE-YO SUES R KELLY

R 'n' B artist Ne-Yo has hit fellow star R Kelly with a six-figure lawsuit, it has been confirmed.

Ne-Yo and R Kelly were co-headlining the Double Up tour of North America in 2007 when the former, born Shaffer Smith, was asked to leave the tour after just two shows.

Though he was paid $50,000 (£25,285) for his two performances, Ne-Yo and Compound Touring Inc have filed a suit against Rowe Entertainment Inc seeking unspecified damages.

"Plaintiffs allege that an unknown representative of R Kelly urged Rowe to terminate Smith from the tour given the audience's and critics' more favourable reaction to Smith than the reaction to R Kelly," the suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court states.

Compound Touring claims to have spent "substantial monies in preparation for the tour and turned down other touring and performance opportunities for Smith in reliance on Rowe's agreement that Smith would perform on the tour".

Though the original reason for Ne-Yo's departure was cited as a contractual dispute, he has claimed R Kelly became jealous of the crowd's enthusiasm for Ne-Yo's performances.

Talking to BET.com recently, he said Jive Records' allegation that contract problems had caused his exit were "absolutely false".

"I believe it was because the first few reviews of the show, people were talking more about my set than his and I don't think he liked that too much," he added.

The suit maintains he was due to be paid $785,000 (£396,980,256) for the 25-date tour and is still owed $735,000 (£371,682,132).