But turns out fan's fury may have been misdirected, as the R&B hit maker is now suing the grundies off Queensland-based Showtime Touring Group, accusing the company of ruining his local concerts and tarnishing his image!
Originally scheduled for five shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Auckland in July, the shows were postponed until August before finally getting cancelled last minute with little excuse given to ticket holders other than tough titties.
In their statement released around the time of Timbaland's tour cancellation, Showtime asserted they "regret to inform fans that due to lack of contact from Timbaland and his management Timbaland will not be appearing this month in Australia but he looks forward to performing for his Australian fans in the near future."
But the rapper has hit back, claiming the cancellation happened after Showtime breached the obligations of its contract, failing to cover expenses for performance fees, security and accommodation.
In the 18-page suit, Timbaland's lawyers revealed that their client wanted to "set the record straight" for his Australian fans about the "last minute cancellation".
"Despite Timbaland's desire to perform for his Australia and New Zealand fans, he was unable to do so," the suit stated.
"From the moment the parties signed the contract at issue, Showtime breached its obligations."
The suit revealed that Showtime had agreed to pay Timbaland a $A1.26 million performance fee for the tour - or $A250, 923 for each of the five scheduled shows - but had failed to make the required payments.
In the contract with Showtime, Timbaland agreed to perform for a minimum of 40 minutes and a maximum of an hour at each show.
The 37-year-old singer, who is best known as the music producer behind hits for Madonna, Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado, has also accused Showtime of releasing misleading information about the show and arranging sponsorships and commercial tie-ins without his consent.
"Timbaland initially offered to postpone the tour dates to permit Showtime to get its act together so that he could entertain his fans," the suit said.
"Showtime, however, was still unable to comply with its basic contractual obligations, including failing to pay the guaranteed due under the contract and failing to provide the required production elements for the tour.
"As a result, on the eve of Timberland's first scheduled appearance, Showtime announced the official cancellation of the tour, disappointing hundreds of thousands of ticket-holding fans and subjecting Timbaland to considerable backlash in the Australian press, which falsely reported that the cancellation was due to Timbaland's wedding and honeymoon."
According to the contract, Showtime - which signed the performance agreement only six weeks before the first scheduled concert - was required to pay for all costs to mount the tour, including round-the-clock security guards to accompany Timbaland and his entourage "at all times during Artist's stay in Australia and New Zealand".
The suit also said that Showtime had agreed to pay his Florida-based corporation Mosley Touring Inc. a "contribution toward the airfare for Timbaland, his associates and other personnel in the amount of $A561,682 ($US447,500)".
Timbaland's demands also included "first-class vehicles" and "first-class, five-star hotel accommodation" for him, his entourage and staff during their nine days in Australia and New Zealand for the tour.
While this all sounds rather omnious for Showtime, there may be a glimmer of hope yet. Despite the fact that the lawsuit has the potential to financially cripple the company, the plot thickens considerably with the news that Timbaland double-booked himself in both Australia and Europe, according to undercover.com.au. News of the conflict reportedly also made fans cautious about buying tickets.
Whether this is a case of the big guns using small business as a scape goat, or honky tonk promoters making promises they can't keep is still yet to be seen but one thing is for sure, the next few months will be an interesting time for Timbaland and Showtime!
Lets hope it's not 'Too Late To Apologise'.Despite everything, we hope all this hostility hasn't discouraged Timbaland from coming down under for good!
Copyright : MTV Australia
