The Cost of Dissing Bret Michaels: $5 Mil

Rocker unleashes fury (and lawyers) on promoter for scrapping show without warning

Every rose has its thorn...and right about now Bret Michaels probably wishes he could jab one into a certain promoter's eyeball.

The death-defying rocker/reality star is unleashing his fury on a concert promoter for allegedly scrapping a concert by the Poison frontman without any warning.

Oops.

Michaels has filed a $5 million lawsuit accusing promoters Michael Banks and Aloha Events of "breaching his contract and exposing him to public contempt and ridicule with allegedly defamatory statements about his schedule" when they decided to postpone an Aug. 5 show in Syracuse, N.Y.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, says the defendants failed to pay Michaels his 10 percent deposit as well as a second 40 percent deposit for his appearance. When Michaels turned up as scheduled to play, he claims he discovered a bare stage with no lights or sound equipment.

Per the court docs, organizers blamed the snafu on Michaels' prior tube commitment on NBC's America's Got Talent. That caused angry fans to flood a local news station with complaints demanding refunds, and even prompted the New York State Attorney General's office to get involved.

According to the suit, that explanation was B.S. since the bandana man had already taped his TV appearance before the concert.

The Celebrity Apprentice champ told New York's WSYR-TV that he believed Banks pulled out and unfairly maligned him because he was having financial problems of his own.

"You don't just go: 'Hey I don't feel like paying anybody.' I think with a guy like Mike, he bit off more than he could chew," said Bret.

And all he wanted was a good time.

Here's hoping Michaels will have a more dependable boss in the Donald—the rocker's been tapped to host Donald Trump's Miss Universe pageant next week.