In a move worthy of the hip-hop version of Spinal Tap, rapper Timbaland allegedly refused to play a gig at the weekend because there was no champagne on his rider.
To make matters worse, it was a charity gig for the residents of Flint, Michigan, whose drinking water has become contaminated with lead.
The gig was held in nearby Detroit and the New York Daily News quotes the promoter, Mitchell Jaworski, as saying that Timbaland would not perform because they had not supplied bottles of Armand de Brignac/Ace of Spades, the premium champagne owned by Jay Z. It costs $300 (€275) a bottle.
Jaworksi claimed that another brand of champagne was provided, but Timbaland refused to come on stage until 1am and then "just stood there" as the DJ played.
He said: "They had about 15 bottles of liquor and champagne, which is extremely excessive especially for a charity even. They seemed more concerned about getting every drop of liquor."
A representative for Timbaland, meanwhile, denied the allegations. They told Billboard: "Unfortunately, the statement made by the promoter in Detroit is simply not true. Timbaland is an extremely generous person who agreed to a much lower fee for this event to raise money for the Flint, Michigan's water crisis. The promoter was fully aware that this was not a full band performance on stage, yet still promoted it as such. The club was still able to raise money for charity, which was our goal in doing this event all along."
