LIVE NATION SAYS DONT BLAME THEM! BLAME DIDDY IN LAWSUIT!

Live Nation is firing back at the guy who sued the concert company over a taping of "Making the Band" in 2008 -- claiming if he really did get hit in the stomach with a microphone, it's Diddy and MTV's fault ... not Live Nation's.

Live Nation filed a response to Kevin Faraday's lawsuit in New York Supreme Court -- denying its involvement with an injury Kevin claims he suffered in the crowd at the Hammerstein Ballroom, where "Making the Band" was being taped.

According to Kevin's lawsuit, some guy ran on stage, grabbed a microphone, and somehow hit him in the abdomen with it.

Kevin is suing a comically long list of defendants over the incident -- including Diddy, MTV, Live Nation, and about a dozen other people and companies -- but Live Nation insists they're innocent.

According to Live Nation, if Kevin did actually hurt himself ... it was probably his own fault -- but Diddy, MTV, and others also had an obligation to prevent this kind of thing from happening ... and they failed to uphold it.

Live Nation wants Kevin's lawsuit dismissed.

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