Timbaland sues Australian promoters

Timbaland is suing the bosses of an Australian tour company, accusing them of ruining his scheduled local concerts and tarnishing his reputation.

The hip-hop star has filed a lawsuit against Showtime Touring Group to "set the record straight" about the last-minute cancellation of his July gigs in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Auckland, New Zealand.

Fans were told the tour had been delayed until August, only to be told on August 11 - a day before the re-scheduled tour kicked off - that the string of dates had been cancelled altogether.

Timbaland alleges Showtime breached obligations of its contract, failing to pay him a AUS$1.26 million ($1m/€700,000) performance fee for the tour.

According to the suit, filed in New York's District Court, Timbaland "offered to postpone the tour dates to permit Showtime to get its act together so that he could entertain his fans.

"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, the 'Apologize' hitmaker faced "considerable backlash in the Australian press" which falsely blamed the cancellation on Timbaland's wedding and honeymoon.

The star is seeking unspecified damages.