LATEST: Representatives for R. KELLY have hit back at a lawsuit filed by NE-YO over a tour dispute, insisting the R&B superstar is "confident enough" in his own talents to have a younger singer join him on tour.

The So Sick hitmaker - real name Shaffer Smith - is suing Kelly's promoter, Rowe Entertainment, for breach of contract after Ne-Yo was dropped as the support act from the 40-year-old's Double Up tour in November (07). He also alleges Kelly didn't want him on the tour because his opening sets were getting bigger cheers from the crowd than the headliner's performances.

In legal papers filed at Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday (31Dec07), Smith alleges he had an "oral agreement" in place with Rowe Entertainment, which is named as the defendant, and lost out on $785,000 (£392,500) in earnings from the tour, which was meant to be for a minimum of 25 dates.

But Kelly's spokesman, Allan Mayer, has denied the allegations, and insists the Bump N' Grind star had nothing to do with Ne-Yo being dropped from the tour.

He tells AllHipHop.com, "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."