Cee Lo Green pleads not guilty in felony drug case

Singer Cee Lo Green listens as attorney Blair Berk speaks during his arraignment at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles. Photo / AP

Cee Lo Green has pleaded not guilty to giving a woman ecstasy at a Los Angeles restaurant during a 2012 dinner, and prosecutors declined to file a rape count against the singer because of insufficient evidence.

Green, 38, whose real name is Thomas DeCarlo Callaway, appeared in court hours after prosecutors charged him with one felony count of furnishing a controlled substance. He could face four years in prison if convicted.

Green spoke only once during a brief arraignment hearing to acknowledge he understood the court's scheduling of his case.

He sat in a front row of the courtroom with his girlfriend while waiting for a bondsman to post his US$30,000 bail. His case is due back in court on November 20.

Green was pleased that the rape charge was rejected and will address the ecstasy count in court, his attorney Blair Berk wrote in a statement.

She said any sexual contact between her client and the woman was consensual.

"Mr Green encouraged a full and complete investigation of those claims and he was confident once conducted he would be cleared of having any wrongful intent," Berk wrote. She declined further comment.

Green is the Grammy-winning singer of the hit Forget You and performed as part of the duo Gnarls Barkley. He appears as a judge on NBC's The Voice competition show. The network declined comment on the charge.

- AP