Pras Michél is taking Lauryn Hill to court for offenses related to The Fugees’ canceled tour.
Michél will face Hill in federal court for fraud and breach of contract, among other claims, over The Fugees’ shortened 2023 tour and its canceled tour a year later.
According to DiversityThe lawsuit was filed on October 1 in the Southern District of New York. In it, Michél claimed that Hill mismanaged the setup, marketing and budgeting of their 2023 tour. He stated that the tour was “really a veiled and misguided attempt to make a big splash for himself.”
The lawsuit claims that Hill siphoned money from travel guarantees. Additionally, it was said that the tour should have been a “huge commercial success, as most of the shows for the entire arena-sized tour were sold out in advance.” However, Michél alleged that he received nothing due to Hill’s control of the tour’s budget. He stated that the budget “is so bloated with unnecessary and most likely fictitious expenses, that it appears to be designed to lose money.”
Hill would go on to cancel the second half of her tour in 2023 as she cited “severe vocal strain” as the reason behind it.
The lawsuit brought by Michél also alleges that the group lost $5 million to perform at Coachella because Hill felt snubbed that No Doubt was top of the bill compared to them.
“Hill’s arrogance was once again demonstrated when she unilaterally rejected the $5 million offer [to play Coachella]. The reason was that her ego was hurt because the group No Doubt would receive the highest compensation from The Fugees on the night of their performance,” the lawsuit states.
“Hill never told Pras about the offer or that she was turned down. Pras only learned about it when it was too late, after Hill, in an astonishing display of arrogance, asked Pras would he agree to perform a few Fugees songs for free as the opening act for her son, ‘YG’ Marley, who is scheduled to perform at the Coachella festival,” it continued.
The complaint further alleges that Hill took advantage of Michél for his financial needs. Previously, Michél had to pay high legal fees due to a legal battle with the US Department of Justice after being named an accomplice of Jho Low, who was accused of stealing $4.5 billion from the wealth fund. Malaysia’s sovereignty, Diversity report. Michél was eventually convicted on charges related to the case in 2023.
By the time the tour took place and was ultimately canceled, the lawsuit states that Hill did not help Michél in his situation. Instead, the tour was canceled, leaving the superstar with a debt of nearly $1 million in unrecovered expenses.
“Hill received 40% of the tour guarantee and net tour profits ‘off the top’ for himself, leaving the remaining 60% to be divided equally between Hill, Pras and Wyclef”.
It didn’t end there as earlier this year Hill reached a deal with Live Nation for a tour that includes 18 shows and will kick off in August. The lawsuit alleges Michél was not included in the deal. While Diversity claiming that ticket sales were low, Michél again blamed Hill’s poor performance.
“[Hill] it took too long to finalize the deal with Live Nation [and] there was little to no marketing for the tour and not enough time between announcement and first show date for enough pre-sales to justify the tour,” Michél alleged .
As a result, the tour was canceled and Michél claimed that Hill had “tarnished the Fugees brand”.
Hill had not yet spoken publicly about the lawsuit at press time. But she spoke out about the cancellation of the Fugees tour in a post on her Instagram account in August, partly blaming low ticket sales.
“Last year, I suffered an injury that forced me to reschedule some of my performances. Unfortunately, some media outlets that favor sensationalism and click-bait headlines seem to have created a photo story affected ticket sales for the North American portion of the tour. And the faith I had in my intentions and commitment to my art seems to have been tarnished by this unfortunate portrait,” she said. write.
She also shared that performing for her fans “is a profound exchange of energy and emotion that keeps me excited.”
“Every performance is an expression of me and a testament to our connection and shared love for music. I can assure you that no one is more disappointed than not being able to perform Please know that I am not only grateful to those who appreciate and support my art, but I FIGHT and overcome all kinds of resistance to put together experiences that are meaningful to all. us. I love bringing these performances to you!
Tags Lauryn Hill, The Fugees