Robbie Williams - Williams Hits Back Over Mtv No-Show

ROBBIE WILLIAMS and MTV bosses are locked in a war of words over the star's no-show at the forthcoming European Music Awards.

The former Take That singer was due to perform at the ceremony in Berlin, Germany on 5 November (09), following his recent comeback, but pulled out of the event, citing "scheduling conflicts".

MTV insiders claim Williams was not due to perform anywhere else and the cancellation came amid health and safety fears over his extravagant stage set.

But the Angels star has hit back, insisting his show was "compromised" by budget cuts at the music network.

An MTV source tells Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper, "Every star is treated the same and has to work to the same parameters. Robbie is no different. But his reps, for some reason, said nearly everything wasn't up to scratch. His no-show is costing us a lot of money. We tried to be accommodating, but they walked away with a week to go. It's caused mayhem."

But a spokesperson for Williams says, "The truth is MTV and the European Music Awards are victims of big budget cuts and Robbie's performance was being compromised so it was decided he wouldn't play. He really wanted to. It is a real shame MTV could not make this happen. He performed a free concert in Berlin last week to 15,000 people. And rumour has it Eminem has pulled out of the Awards for the same reason."