Representatives of the American singer Ne-Yo have rejected a lawsuit brought by a promoter over a cancelled concert in Colombo, saying the promoter — not the artist — is the party that failed to meet its obligations, the Daily Mirror reported, citing the US entertainment outlet TMZ.
“The claims made by Brown Boy Presents are categorically fraudulent and misleading,” a spokesperson for the singer said. “Brown Boy Presents isn’t owed money by NE-YO — the promoter owes NE-YO answers regarding its misconduct.”
The two accounts
The promoter’s case. Brown Boy Presents says it paid at least US$284,460 towards a US$325,000 guarantee for Ne-Yo to perform in Colombo in December. It says the arrangement collapsed when the artist’s team changed travel plans for his crew, driving airfare costs sharply higher: one quote for five members of the party came to around US$57,000, before a revised travel package rose to nearly US$93,000. The promoter says Ne-Yo’s team then cancelled the show and kept the money already paid, even though the singer later suggested publicly that he still wanted to perform in Sri Lanka. It further alleges that his team afterwards approached one of its Sri Lankan ticketing partners about a separate show without involving Brown Boy. It is seeking the return of the US$284,000-plus along with additional damages.
The artist’s case. Ne-Yo’s representative says the promoter was contractually required to pay the singer in full before the performance and to cover round-trip travel for him and his team, and did neither despite being given several opportunities to put matters right. The representative says it became clear the promoter lacked the financial resources to meet its contractual obligations, leaving the singer no choice but to withdraw.
The two accounts agree on very little beyond the existence of a contract, a substantial payment made, and a show that did not happen. They differ on who was obliged to fund travel, whether the shortfall was the promoter’s or the result of the artist’s changes, and whether the retained money is a debt or a forfeited deposit.
Still not reported
The Daily Mirror does not say in which court or jurisdiction the suit was filed or when, name the Colombo venue or the intended date of the concert, or identify the Sri Lankan ticketing partner said to have been approached separately. It does not report whether the promoter has responded to the accusation of misconduct, whether ticket-holders were refunded, or whether any Sri Lankan authority is involved. The account of the promoter’s claim reaches Sri Lankan readers via a US entertainment outlet rather than from court filings seen directly, and no other verified newsroom had filed on the denial at the time of writing.
