Famed hip-hop producer Timbaland has landed himself in a bit of hot water after refusing to perform at a Detroit charity event because they didn’t have the correct brand of champagne for his entourage, according to the NY Daily News. The event was to raise money for those affected by the current water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
The embarrassment began when the multiple Grammy Award-winner was offered two bottles of Dom Perignon instead of the Jay-Z-owned Ace of Spades champagne that appears on his rider. Jay-Z’s stuff retails for $300 per bottle, while Dom Perignon sells for about $130.
Apparently, Dom is just not the right stuff: The DJ and his entourage were so upset that they began imbibing approximately 15 bottles of liquor, including two bottles of Patrón tequila, three bottles of Ciroc vodka, two bottles of D’usse cognac, and a bottle of Disaronno Originale amaretto. His management then told event organizers that Timbaland would not perform.
“His management (took) classlessness to a new level when they said Timbaland did ‘not feel like’ performing,” club owner Mitchell Jaworski wrote of the event. “They then insisted that we show them the signed contract for the night and where the stipulation was for the ‘live’ performance. Finally management relented and literally had to wake Timbaland up so he could proceed to stand behind the decks and nod his head for 30 minutes.”
Fans say that Timbaland pulled a similar stunt at another charity event the night before at a club called CAVO in Pittsburgh, PA. “The show was a joke. He didn’t do anything but just stand there and drink champagne,” wrote one showgoer on the club’s Facebook page.
Timbaland’s camp has yet to respond to allegations about the Pittsburgh show, but they have responded to the allegations about issues in Detroit with a statement to Billboard.
According to them, the producer 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.” They went on to say, “The club was still able to raise money for charity, which was our goal in doing this event all along.”
At least one half of the statement is demonstrably true: Despite the massive alcohol bill, the event raised approximately $3000 to be put toward bottled water and water filters for residents of Flint.
