Lauryn Hill has been sued by her Fugees bandmate Pras Michel for alleged fraud and breach of contract.
Variety first reported news on the lawsuit, which was filed in the Southern District of New York, on Tuesday (October 1).
The charges include fraud, fraud in the inducement, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, accounting and refusal to permit an audit of the Fugees’ tour. Hill, in a statement, called the suit “baseless” and said it was “full of false claims and unwarranted attacks.”
Michel claimed that Hill mismanaged aspects of their canceled 2023 tour, which included failed attempts at setup, marketing and budgeting. The suit said the run: “was actually a veiled and devious attempt to make a big score for herself.”
The suit added that the tour should have been: “a huge commercial success, since most of shows for the entire arena size tour were sold out in advance.” Michel claimed he received zero money from the shows because the budget: “was so bloated with unnecessary and, most likely fictitious, expenses, that it seemed designed to lose money.” Hill eventually canceled the tour due to “serious vocal strain.”
Hill, in response, claimed that Pras was actually overpaid for the tour.
“[H]e was advanced overpayment for the last tour and has failed to repay substantial loans extended by myself as an act of goodwill,” she wrote. “Pras was given a $3M advance for the tour, which he said he required to pay his legal fees. Wyclef and Myself deferred our full advances to make sure he had what he needed and was able to go. I covered most of the tour expenses, as the majority of the tour advance had gone to Pras.”
Other details include a claim that Hill rejected an offer from Coachella for the group to perform for $5 million, due to jealousy over No Doubt being featured at the top of the festival lineup.
The suit read: “Hill’s arrogance was again demonstrated when she unilaterally rejected a $5 Million offer [to play Coachella]. The reason was that her ego was bruised since the group No Doubt would be receiving top billing over The Fugees the night of their show. Hill never told Pras about the offer or that she had was rejected it. Pras only learned about it when it was too late, after Hill, in an astonishing display of hubris, asked Pras if he would agree to perform a few Fugees songs for free as the opening act for her son, ‘YG’ Marley, who was slated to perform at the same Coachella festival.”
Michel said he agreed to the tour in part due to mounting legal fees from other aspects of his career.
Once the tour was canceled, he claims he didn’t earn money, rather owing nearly $1 million in un-recouped expenses because “Hill was taking 40% of the tour guarantees and tour net profits ‘off the top’ for herself, leaving the remaining 60% to be split equally between Hill, Pras and Wyclef [Jean].”
The lawsuit also interestingly refers to Fugees member Wyclef Jean as Lauryn Hill’s former husband.
A section read: “With the walls closing in on Michel by mid-2023, Hill saw an opportunity and swooped in to purportedly ‘save the day’ for Michel, enlisting the unwitting aide of her former husband, Wyclef, to put together a Fugees tour for the second half of 2023 using independent live music concert promoter Mammoth, Inc. (‘Mammoth’).”
Though Jean and Hill were romantically involved at one point in the band’s existence, there is no evidence that they were ever married.
You can read Lauryn Hill’s full statement on the suit below:
Some clarity and facts need to be presented. I’ve been silent and pushing through because I understood that Pras was under duress because of his legal battles and that this was perhaps affecting his judgment, state of mind and character.
Fact #1: This baseless lawsuit by Pras is full of false claims and unwarranted attacks. It notably omits that he was advanced overpayment for the last tour and has failed to repay substantial loans extended by myself as an act of goodwill. Last year’s tour was put together to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. It was being planned whether the Fugees were involved or not.
Fact #2: The tour was expanded to incorporate the Fugees because I found out that Pras was in trouble and would need money to aid his legal defense.
Fact #3: Pras was given a $3M advance for the tour, which he said he required to pay his legal fees. Wyclef and Myself deferred our full advances to make sure he had what he needed and was able to go. I covered most of the tour expenses, as the majority of the tour advance had gone to Pras. An agreement was put in place to secure the repayment of the money he was advanced. Pras has not paid back the money he was advanced, and is currently in breach of this agreement.
Fact #4: Because my tour, band, production, and set up were already happening, the Fugees set utilized this same production. I absorbed most of the expenses myself, produced the show, put together the entire set (with Wyclef’s participation for the Fugees and Wyclef’s set). Pras basically just had to show up and perform.
Fact #5: As of the last tour Pras thanked me for ‘saving his life’. (I have the receipts.)
Fact #6: I am not in the business of kicking anyone, especially when they’re down, which is why I haven’t responded to date. It is absolutely disheartening to see Pras in this position, my band mate and someone I considered a friend but this leads us to Fact #7, which probably should have been Fact #1…
Fact #7: I was not in Pras’ life when he decided to make the unfortunate decision that lead to his current legal troubles. I did not advise that he make that decision and therefore am in no way responsible for his decision and its consequences though I have taken it upon myself to help. Despite his attacks, I am still compassionate and hope things work out for him.
Respectfully, MLH
Pras Explains Issues With Lauryn Hill But Denies Dissing Her On ‘Bar Mitzfa’
Back in August, it was reported that Pras will not be getting a chance to redo the trial that found him guilty of criminal conspiracy charges despite his attorney’s unorthodox methods, a judge ruled.
On August 30, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly denied the Fugees member’s motion for a new trial, and issued a 77-page decision laying out her reasoning.
Pras was convicted back in April for his role in a failed conspiracy to help Malaysian businessman Jho Low and the Chinese government gain access to US officials, including Barack Obama and Donald Trump. The “Ghetto Superstar” rapper was found guilty on 10 counts, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S., witness tampering and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
Just a few months after conviction, Pras began working toward bringing his case back to life on grounds of his ex-attorney apparently messing up “the single most important portion” of his defense by using generative AI to put together a closing statement.
