Saweetie & Jason Derulo Sued for Backing Out of Japan’s Afro Jam Fest — But Still Keeping Advances

Saweetie and Jason Derulo are both facing lawsuits alleging they breached contracts to perform at Japan’s Afro Jam Festival last summer.  

Japanese concert promoters Moon Dream Production Co. and SFL Group sued both artists last week for millions of dollars in damages over their canceled slots at Japan’s first-ever Afrobeats festival in July 2025. Afro Jam was originally billed to include shows across Okinawa, Osaka and Tokyo, but only the Tokyo performances ended up happening. The festival’s organizers blamed the cancellations on “artist and other operational reasons.”

The Derulo lawsuit, filed last Thursday (May 14) and obtained by Billboard, alleges Derulo was paid a $200,000 advance in 2024 to perform at Okinawa Arena and Osaka’s Ookini Arena Maishima as part of Afro Jam. But according to the complaint, the promoters later discovered that Derulo was already contracted to perform in Spain during that time.

“Despite demand, Derulo has refused and continues to refuse to refund plaintiff’s deposit in the sum of $200,000,” reads the lawsuit.  

Saweetie, meanwhile, was hit with similar allegations in a complaint submitted on Friday (May 15) and reviewed by Billboard on the court’s website. Moon Dream and SFL Group say Saweetie received a $100,000 advance and promised to perform across Okinawa, Osaka and Tokyo on various dates of the festival.

The lawsuit claims Saweetie did not fulfill this promise. And to make matters worse, she allegedly still used the promoters’ services to get a visa to travel to Tokyo and performed at unaffiliated nightclubs —instead of the Afro Jam venues Musashino Forests Sports Plaza and R3 Club Lounge.

“Had plaintiffs known the defendants’ true intentions, plaintiffs would never have entered into any performance agreement with Saweetie and her team,” the complaint says.

Now, Moon Dream and SFL Group are demanding that Derulo and Saweetie both repay their advances, plus $300,000 apiece for the promoters’ non-refundable venue and promotional expenses, and millions of dollars in punitive damages.

Reps for Derulo and Saweetie did not immediately return requests for comment on the lawsuits. UTA, which is also named as a defendant in the Saweetie case for supposedly booking the Afro Jam slot on her behalf, also did not return an inquiry.