Submitted by: kirkland on Saturday October 30th, 2004 at 07:32 PM EST

The tumultuous tour pairing platinum-selling stars R. Kelly and Jay-Z came to an abrupt end Saturday, one day after a member of the rapper's entourage allegedly blasted Kelly in the face with pepper spray during a concert at Madison Square Garden.

Kelly was booted from shows Saturday and Monday at the Garden by the promoter, who told the "I Believe I Can Fly" singer that he was banned from the facility, said his publicist, Allen Mayer. The promoter announced that Jay-Z, with special guests, would do the shows alone.

"The fans deserve better than this," Kelly said in a statement. "I'd like the show to go on. It's really disappointing that Jay-Z and the promoter don't."

The duo's "Best of Both Worlds" tour was troubled from its start earlier this month, with three shows canceled due to "technical problems" and reports that the feuding superstars weren't even on speaking terms.

Things came to a head on Friday night, when Kelly abruptly stopped his set at about 9:30 p.m. after alleging that he spotted two gun-toting fans in the crowd, Mayer said. Garden security employees searched for weapons but found none, and told Kelly it was safe to continue performing, Mayer said.

As the singer made his way back to the stage, a member of Jay-Z's entourage apparently miffed by Kelly's interruption of the show blasted him and two of his bodyguards in the face with the noxious spray, Mayer said.

The "Best of Both Worlds" tour was scheduled to hit 40 cities. But shows in Cincinnati, Milwaukee and Hartford, Conn., were canceled in the first three weeks of the tour.

During a show in St. Louis last week, an angry Kelly cut his set short and left the stage. And Kelly reportedly showed up two hours late for a Chicago concert, infuriating Jay-Z.

» Read full story @ ABC News