R&B singer Ne-Yo says jealousy got him booted as the opening act of R. Kelly’s tour, and he’s fighting back with a lawsuit.

Ne-Yo, whose real name is Shaffer Smith, is suing Rowe Entertainment, the concert promoters of R. Kelly’s “Double Up” tour for breach of contract and loss of earnings.

The singer says he was fired after only two shows because fans and critics preferred him.

“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,” Ne-Yo said during a BET.com interview a few weeks ago.

He was scheduled to play a total of 25 shows.

Courts documents allege that “[a]n unknown representative of R. Kelly urged [promoter and company president Leonard] Rowe to terminate Smith from the tour given the audience and critics’ more favourable reaction to Smith than the reaction to R. Kelly.”

However, Rowe Entertainment said at the time Ne-Yo was let go that it was because “a final, fully executed contract” could not be secured from Ne-Yo’s agent.

The company has posted a statement on its website saying the lineup change was solely Rowe’s decision.

While Kelly is not named as a defendant in the legal action, his representative released a statement saying that Kelly was not involved in Ne-Yo’s dismissal.

“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,” said the statement.

Ne-Yo’s albums “In My Own Words” and “Because of You” both topped the U.S. charts and have sold more than 1 million units.






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