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Kelis Update: Singing a Different Tune

Tue., Apr. 10, 2007 6:04 PM PDT by Marc Malkin

Tony DiMaio/www.ipartypix.com

Her milkshake may bring all boys to the yard, but it looks like Kelis has a lot of gay guys running in the opposite direction. Today, the feud between the hip-pop singer and organizers of this weekend's White Party heated up.

After insisting yesterday that Kelis had a great time performing at the White Party in Palm Springs this weekend, her publicist completely changed her tune today.

"Allegations of any diva behavior by Kelis at the recent White Party are completely untrue," the rep, Tracy Nguyen, said in a statement. "There were many missteps behind the scenes which created a less than suitable environment for any artist to perform. Because of her love for her fans, Kelis made the decision to take the stage, against any advice not to do so."

While party founder and producer Jeffrey Sanker was mum yesterday, he had a lot to say today. He just emailed me the following response:

"We are always grateful to have a performer like Kelis entertain at The White Party.

However, any unsuitable conditions were created by Kelis, who refused to rehearse for her show and arrived two hours late. Behind the scenes, I spent two weeks preparing an elaborate production number built entirely around Kelis, and when it came time to do the show, she was completely unprepared.

Perhaps her stand-in, who had to fill in when Kelis refused to participate in rehearsals, is more qualified to comment on the conditions at WP 2007, since she spent way more time at the event than Kelis ever did.

In the past, world-class performers such as Jennifer Lopez, Toni Braxton, Grace Jones, Boy George, Deborah Cox, Anastasia and Kristine W, have all given memorable performances for grateful audiences, without any 'Kelis-style' incident."