Julio Iglesias -- the talented, Spanish vocalist who spawned the not-so-talented, crooning, pretty-boy singer Enrique Iglesias -- canceled a concert in Northern Cyprus but still kept nearly $300,000 in performance fees, according to a recently filed lawsuit.
Voyager -- a Turkish resort company -- agreed to pay Iglesias $250,000 to sing and an additional $29,000.
That show was supposed to take place at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel in Kyrenia -- Voyager's locale in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus -- on October 16, 2010.
But Voyager claims that Iglesias and his manager -- Fort Lauderdale's International Creative Talent Agency -- canceled because of bogus safety concerns.
"The purported reason given by Julio Iglesias for the Concert's cancellation was concerns about the security situation in North Cyprus. This was so, even though Julio Iglesias received various assurances of security from numerous sources, including the Prime Minister's Office of North Cyprus and from the Turkish Ambassador to North Cyprus," court docs indicate.
"As well, numerous famous artists, such as Dionne Warwick, The Gypsy Kings, and Paul Anka, have given performances in recent years in North Cyprus without incident."
Northern Cyprus -- which has been known to have a coup d'etat every now and then -- is not unsafe, Voyager insists. So Iglesias and his managers had no right to skip the show, let alone keep the money. Voyager is suing to get it back.
Voyager is also upset that Iglesias and his colleagues hurt the country's feelings.
"As well, Julio Iglesias's statements about the supposed security problems in North Cyprus, which were widely publicized in the media in North Cyprus and elsewhere, caused embarassment to Voyager and cast it and North Cyprus in a bad light."
International Creative Talent Agency said Monday that it wasn't aware of the lawsuit but would review the filing and comment later.
