Jennifer Lopez may be sued for up to $40m (£26.5m) after pulling out of a concert in northern Cyprus. Although booked for a concert in the island's Turkish-occupied north, the US singer cancelled her appearance last week, citing the "political realities" of the region.

But according to the owners of the resort where Lopez was to perform, politics matter much less than the fine print of the singer's contract. "The cancellation ... is not covered by any clause in the contract she signed with us," insisted Murat Bozoglu, CEO of the Istanbul-based company. "The contract has not been terminated," he told Agence France-Presse. "If she does not show up for the concert, we will begin a procedure in the courts to claim $35-40m in damages."

On 24 July, Lopez was due to mark her 41st birthday with a gig at the Cratos Premium hotel and casino. While the $220m resort seemed like an attractive prospect, Lopez seems to have neglected the delicate geo-political situation in Cyprus. Turkey has held the north of the island since a 1974 invasion, displacing about 200,000 Greek-Cypriots and unilaterally claiming sovereignty for the region.Earlier this month, protesters called on Lopez to cancel her concert, and the singer acceded on Friday.

"After a full review of the relevant circumstances in Cyprus, it was the decision of her advisers to withdraw from the appearance," read the statement on Lopez's website. "Jennifer Lopez would never knowingly support any state, country, institution or regime that was associated with any form of human rights abuse." Feza Firat, PR spokesman for Cratos, said that Lopez has been misinformed about the situation in Cyprus. She has been "led to believe there [is] a war going on", Firat said. Or perhaps she started reading Wikipedia.