The Fugees’ Pras Michél launches fraud lawsuit against Lauryn Hill
Fans of the Fugees were treated in 2023 when Lauryn Hill, Pras Michél, and Wyclef Jean announced they would embark on a North American tour. However, they were disappointed when it was declared that the group would cancel the tour, even after tickets had gone live.
Over the years, Hill has gained a reputation for her unpredictability concerning live performances. Not only does she often turn up hours after her allotted time, but she often doesn’t turn up at all, and the singer usually issues a list of reasons for her lateness.
That said, following the tour cancellations, Hill blamed the media for affecting the ticket sales, which, in turn, led to the tour’s cancellation. However, she has now been sued by her bandmate, Pras Michél, for fraud and breach of contract, per Variety.
On October 1st, Michél filed a scathing lawsuit in alleging that Hill mismanaged the tours and showed negligence concerning setup, marketing and budgeting on all occasions. The document fiercely claims that the announcement “was actually a veiled and devious attempt to make a big score for herself.”
The complaint by Michél alleges that Hill embezzled money from the ticket pre-sales, leaving himself and Wyclef Jean empty-handed and financially exposed. The full list of claims includes fraud, fraud in the inducement, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, accounting, and refusal to permit an audit of the Fugees’ tour.
Michél asserts that the tour announced by Hill and the group would have made a lot of money and that he lost a vast income potential due to Hill’s lacklustre approach to organising the events. In the lawsuit, he insists, it “would have been a huge commercial success, since most of shows for the entire arena size tour were sold out in advance.”
Not only does the lawsuit filed with the New York South District Attorney attack Hill’s organisational skills and accuse her of fraud, but it also describes the ‘To Zion’ singer as sneaky and an individual who shows “narcissistic tendencies.”
One paragraph reads, “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.”
The million-dollar Coachella performance would have seen a huge benefit for Michél and, it is alleged, “Hill never told Pras about the offer or that she had was rejected it.”
In a shocking twist, the court filing reveals that “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.”
Hill is yet to respond to news of the lawsuit and the allegations made against by Michél.