June 7, 2013
Gay Bar Sues Ciara Over Alleged Gay Pride Debacle
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.
R&B singer Ciara is being sued by a West Hollywood gay bar for allegedly backing out of a gay event during Los Angeles Gay Pride week, TMZ reports.
The "My Goodies" singer signed a $10,000 deal to appear at the Factory Nightclub on June 7 - the day before she's supposed to perform on the main stage at the 2013 L.A. Pride parade, according to the lawsuit. The nightclub's officials claim Ciara said she could not perform because of restrictions regarding her deal with L.A. Pride. She did say, however, she would be able to make an "appearance" at the gay club.
According to the Factory, the "Body Party" chanteuse suddenly canceled the event on June 3, which put the club in a tough spot: they had no big name for Friday night's pre-gay parade celebration.
The club's officials are now suing the pop star for breach of contract and want her to pay for the money they had to shell out in order to promote her appearance. In addition, they want her to cough up the money they're losing out on because of her bailing out.
Ciara's rep told TMZ that the lawsuit is ridiculous because the singer backed out before the deal was finalized.
"Ciara's commitment to perform at L.A. Gay Pride on Saturday night prevented her from making such a Friday night appearance," the rep told TMZ. "Despite being notified early last week that Ciara could not appear, the Factory continued to market and promote Ciara's appearance."
The rep went on to say that it is unclear as to why the Factory continued to promote Ciara and "mislead the public" after she backed out and "to cause damage to the L.A. Gay Pride festival and to attempt to portray Ciara in a negative light."