Pras Files Lawsuit Against Lauryn Hill

“And then the Fugees gon’ break up…” If fans of one of Hip Hop’s most iconic trios are still holding on to hopes of a successful reunion tour, they should know that things aren’t looking good. On Tuesday, Pras Michél filed a lawsuit in federal court against Lauryn Hill, accusing the rapper and songstress of fraud and breach of contract among other allegations stemming from last year’s Fugees tour, which got cut short because of Hill, according to Pras. From Variety:

In a scathing lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, Michél alleges that Hill grossly mismanaged the setup, marketing and budgeting of their scuttled 2023 tour, which “was actually a veiled and devious attempt to make a big score for herself,” the complaint states, adding that the singer then secretly siphoned off money from the tour guarantees. The full list of claims also include breach of fiduciary duty and refusal to permit an audit of the Fugees’ tour. The suit claims that the 2023 Fugees tour should have been “a huge commercial success, since most of shows for the entire arena size tour were sold out in advance.” However, Michél came away empty-handed because Hill controlled the tour budget “that was so bloated with unnecessary and, most likely fictitious, expenses, that it seemed designed to lose money.” Furthermore, the tour was cut short when Hill abruptly cancelled the second half in November 2023, citing “serious vocal strain.”

Neither Hill nor her legal representation are taking the allegations lying down, of course. In a statement to Variety, the “Lost Ones” artist said her former group mate’s lawsuit is “baseless” and “full of false claims and unwarranted attacks.” Her attorney, Howard King, not only denied the allegations against his client but appeared to blame Pras for the tour falling apart. “It is particularly disappointing that the suit fails to reveal that Pras was grossly over-advanced for the last tour to help him pay his mounting legal bills,” King said. “His failure to show appreciation for the financial help Ms. Hill has afforded him in his time of need is disappointing. This action will be aggressively defended and defeated.” So, apparently, Pras and Lauryn are pretty much accusing each other of the tour’s failure and its financial fallout. But the lawsuit against Hill takes things even further, alleging that past events have proven her to be a person with “narcissistic tendencies,” including an allegation that she turned down a $5 million offer for the Fugees to perform at Coachella this year all because the festival gave the band No Doubt top billing. “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 complaint says. “Hill never told Pras about the offer or that she had 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.” The suit also claims it was Hill who proposed last year’s reunion tour in the first place, floating the idea to the group’s third member and producer, Wyclef Jean, after a failed solo tour left her disappointed. Hill “realized that the only chance for her to perform at arena size venues and feed her insatiable ego would be to reunite with Michél and Jean and bill the 25th-anniversary tour as a ‘Fugees” tour,’” the suit states. Pras’ suit claims Hill took advantage of his own financial woes, stemming from allegations that he was involved in a multimillion dollar fraud scheme, which, by the way, has resulted in him admitting to having served as an FBI informant. Yeah — it has been a wild couple of years for the Fugees. Guess we’ll all have to stay tuned to see what shakes out next.

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