http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/01/people.r.kelly.ap/index.html R. Kelly kicked off tour Concert jaunt with Jay-Z ends acrimoniously Monday, November 1, 2004 Posted: 9:01 AM EST (1401 GMT) Jay-Z and R. Kelly perform on their "Best of Both Worlds" tour. NEW YORK (AP) -- Lawyers for singer R. Kelly were filing a criminal complaint against a member of rapper Jay-Z's entourage and considering other legal action after the platinum-selling stars' joint tour came to an abrupt end. The "I Believe I Can Fly" singer was booted from remaining shows at Madison Square Garden by the promoter Saturday, a day after a member of Jay-Z's entourage allegedly blasted Kelly with pepper spray, said his publicist, Allan Mayer. The promoter announced that Jay-Z, with special guests, would do the shows alone. Kelly's lawyers were filing a complaint against the entourage member and considering action over the decision to remove Kelly from the tour, Mayer said. "The fans deserve better than this," Kelly said in a statement. "I'd like the show to go on. It's really disappointing that Jay-Z and the promoter don't." Jay-Z and R. Kelly were in the midst of a 40-city "Best of Both Worlds" tour, which has been beset by canceled shows and reports that the feuding performers weren't even on speaking terms. The tour, which had been scheduled to run through November 28, has been canceled, said promoter Jeff Sharp of Atlanta Worldwide Touring. Jay-Z's publicist was unsure if the rapper would try and fill the remaining dates as a solo act. The pepper-spray incident happened about an hour into Friday night's show, when Kelly walked on stage and said he saw two people in the audience waving guns, Mayer said. Kelly abruptly stopped his set around 9:30 p.m. while arena security employees searched for weapons. Finding none, guards told Kelly it was safe to continue performing, Mayer said. But as the singer was making his way back to the stage, a man in Jay-Z's entourage -- apparently miffed that Kelly interrupted the show -- sprayed him and two of his bodyguards in the face, Mayer said. "I'm pretty sure Jay didn't realize what was going on," Mayer said. All three men were treated at St. Vincent's Hospital and released, he said. Jay-Z performed for another 45 minutes after Kelly was sprayed. Jana Fleishman, publicist for Jay-Z, said Saturday that the rapper's entourage knew nothing about the incident because it occurred while Jay-Z was performing. Jay-Z "did not attack R. Kelly in any way, shape or form," Fleishman said. In a radio interview on Hot 97 FM radio Friday, Jay-Z said he couldn't understand why Kelly left the stage. "You can't get a gun inside Madison Square Garden," the rapper said. "If people give me love he can't take it." The Chicago Sun-Times reported discord between the two performers after Kelly showed up more than two hours late for a show in Chicago and walked off the stage mid-performance in St. Louis this month. Three shows on the tour were canceled because of "technical difficulties" suffered by Kelly, Fleishman said. On Tuesday, Kelly and Jay-Z released their collaborative CD "Unfinished Business." ----------------- I have tickets to this concert in Boston. I'm not overly interested in the Jay-Z part of the tour...I really wanted to see the R. Kelly part (and the women he attracts...at least those over 18 ). Am I basically screwed on this? Did I just throw $50 away on this ticket, or do they have any obligation to provide the show they promised?
I thought I heard on the radio that the tour will go on with Jay-Z as a solo act, and he'll be periodically joined by friends throughout (They said that Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige have already made appearances). And they said that you can get a refund if you don't want to see a Jay-Z only show. Later on in the day that radio station gave away some concert tickets. Of surprise, surprise the Jay-Z + R. Kelly concert.
r. kelly should be in prison right now. get that child molester out of my face. i don't care if i ever hear about him again.
Looks like Kelly is fighting back. $75 million!! That is crazy. R&B crooner R.Kelly has smacked Jay-Z with a $75 million lawsuit on Nov. 1 and accused the rapper of intentionally disrupting his efforts throughout their “Best of Both World’s Tour. In a statement, Kelly accused Jay-Z and affiliates of his Marcy Projects production company of a myriad of offenses including physical assault via pepper spray, breach of contract, deliberate sabotage by Jay-Z's alleged lighting director. Furthermore, the legal action also named well-known Jay-Z associate Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith as the person who allegedly pepper-sprayed him at the Madison Square Garden show on Friday Oct. 29. The suit was filed in New York Supreme Court after the promoter, Atlanta Worldwide Touring Company, cancelled the pair’s four New York dates and held a “Jay-Z and Friends” concert instead. In a statement, his lawyers stated, “R. Kelly's own lighting director took over the lighting duties for the "Best of Both Worlds Tour" tour at an Oct. 29 concert at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. The show went off flawlessly that night. But at a Madison Square Garden show the following night, R. Kelly saw two men with guns in the audience and left the stage fearing for his life, the lawsuit says. R. Kelly agreed to resume his performance after police were called, but on his way back to the stage he and members of his entourage were assaulted with pepper spray wielded by an associate of Jay-Z identified as Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith, the lawsuit charges.” To support his suit, Kelly claims that Jay-Z shorted fans by prematurely leaving a date in Memphis on Oct. 17 in order to attend a party for R&B star Usher. In the suit, Kelly seeks to get $15 million in damages in lost revenue from the tour cancellation and $60 million in punitive damages from Jay-Z, “Ty Ty” Smith and the promoter.
