NEW YORK (AP) – Singer Ashanti was accused in a civil court case on Monday of abandoning her first music producer when he asked for money after she became commercially successful, an allegation she denied on the witness stand.

Genard Parker was an established music producer when Ashanti, then 16 years old, approached him in 1996 for help, his lawyer Jasmine Khalili said.

“This case is about abandoning the people that help us succeed,” Khalili charged in opening statements in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, where the contract dispute is being heard by a jury.

She said Parker helped Ashanti in his Bronx home-based studio for eight months when she was “just another teenage girl with a nice voice.”

Ashanti, who then lived in Glen Cove, on Long Island, eventually signed with a record company, and Parker released her from his contract with the understanding that he could produce two songs on her first album and receive a $50,000 advance plus royalties, Khalili said.

Two successful records that sold a total of more than 6 million copies mean Ashanti owes Parker millions of dollars in royalties, the lawyer said.

“She has never paid him, and, just as importantly, she has never thanked him,” Khalili said.

On the witness stand, Ashanti, now 24, denied that Parker played an influential role in her career.

She said praise she tossed his way on a videotape made in 1997 to help promote her efforts for a recording contract was “a little bit of hype.”

“I was excited,” she said. “I thought I was getting a record deal.”

Her lawyer, Harry Stokes, said it was only after the success of the second album that Parker claimed his contract was violated and demanded money.

Parker, now of Ellenwood, Ga., testified that Ashanti was pleased with the work he did for her in 1996 and 1997.

The trial is expected to last three days, though the singer, whose full name is Ashanti Douglas, left after her testimony for Vancouver, British Columbia, where she is working on a movie.

Ashanti won a Grammy Award in 2003 for best contemporary R&B album for her first album, “Ashanti.”

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LOS ANGELES (AP) – Actor Colin Farrell is suing a woman for allegedly trying to distribute and profit from a sex tape he says the two recorded with the agreement it would never be made public.

The lawsuit filed Monday seeks monetary damages as well as a temporary restraining order and injunction prohibiting the sale or other use of the videotape.

Farrell, 29, accuses Nicole Narain of trying to distribute the tape through an intermediary. The two had an intimate relationship 2½ years ago and both agreed that the 15-minute tape that shows the couple having sex would be jointly owned by them and would remain private, according to the suit.

Narain could not be reached for comment. A call to a phone number listed for her showed the number had been disconnected.

A message left for Farrell’s attorney was not immediately returned Monday.

The lawsuit also accused the 31-year-old woman of working with the owner of an Internet pornography business and contacting the news media about the tape.

The lawsuit said the release of the videotape would irreparably harm Farrell’s reputation and career.

Farrell, who has starred in “S.W.A.T” and “Alexander,” and is slated to appear in “The New World” and “Miami Vice,” has been named one of the sexiest men alive by People magazine.

He has a son with model Kim Bordenave.

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NEW YORK (AP) – Paul Shaffer, musical director for “The Late Show With David Letterman,” will host two benefit-tribute concerts for Mike Smith, lead singer and keyboard player for the Dave Clark Five, who suffers from spinal cord injuries after an accident at his home in Spain in 2003.

The concert will feature performances by The Zombies, Peter and Gordon, Billy J. Kramer, original Moody Blues lead singer Denny Laine and Beatles cover band The Fab Faux.

“A Tribute to Mike Smith” will be held Aug. 2 at B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in New York. The first show will be broadcast live on XM Satellite Radio. All proceeds will benefit Smith, who is paralyzed below the rib cage and has very limited use of his upper body, it was announced Sunday.

A 10-day eBay auction to benefit Smith begins July 31 and will include items such as an autographed drumhead signed by Ringo Starr, Monty Python memorabilia and VIP tickets to a Brian Wilson concert.

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On the Net:

http://www.tciartists.com/mikesmithbenefit