Rapper JAY-Z has come under fire from the manager of a trendy New York club who alleges the star’s music industry pals failed to pay a $1,500 (£1,034) bill.
The hip-hop mogul is said to have enjoyed a night out at the city’s M2 hotspot in Chelsea in February (09) with Atlantic Records executive Michael Kyser and Universal Music Group boss Shawn Costner.
M2 manager Dan Develin claims the group was handed a heavily discounted $1,500 (£1,034) bill at the end of the night but left without settling their tab.
He tells New York Post gossip column PageSix, "Jay-Z ordered a bottle of Patron Platinum and some expensive champagne, and everything was going great. The waitress has known him for five years, and he’s a good friend of Joey’s (owner Joey Morrissey), so we ended up comping a lot of their bill.
"Kyser and Costner were making a big show of wanting to take Jay-Z out, so they started arguing over who got to pick up the check. Jay-Z ended up tipping the waitress $500 and going outside to wait." Develin alleges Costner’s credit card was declined and Keyser opted to pay the full total - but he claims the music executive left without authorising the transaction and has subsequently failed to pay up.
He adds, "Before we could get him to sign the receipt, he left the club. Of course, we still have his card, so we called up his office, and his assistant told us someone would come by to sign. Weeks went by, and no one ever did. Finally, we got a call from AmEx and were told that Kyser was disputing the charge. When we called him up again, his assistant said, ‘Oh, Michael says he doesn’t actually remember being there’ - which is crazy because we have his card and photos of him and Jay-Z." Owner Morrissey has voiced his hope that the matter can be resolved amicably, adding, "We just want to settle this and be done without having to press charges." A spokesman for Jay-Z declined to comment.
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