Arsenio Hall is suing-mad at Sinead O’Connor over the singer’s claim that the former talk-show host was Prince’s drug dealer.
Hall has filed suit against “Nothing Compares 2 U” singer O’Connor, after the singer made the claim on social media this week.
“Two words for the DEA investigating where prince got his drugs over the decades…. Arsenio Hall (AKA Prince’s and Eddie Murphy‘s bitch),” O’Connor wrote Monday on Facebook. “Anyone imagining prince was not a long time hard drug user is living in cloud cuckoo land. Arsenio I’ve reported you to the Carver County Sheriff’s office. Expect their call. They are aware you spiked me years ago at Eddie murphy‘s house. You best get tidying your man cave.”
Hall’s representative denounced O’Connor’s claims as “absolutely false, ridiculous and absurd.”
The libel lawsuit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks damages “in an amount not less than $5 million.”
“The malicious statements made by O’Connor are absolutely false, and O’Connor’s heinous accusations that Hall engaged in this criminal conduct are despicable, fabricated lies,” the suit reads.
The suit also calls out O’Connor as a bit of a social-media attention seeker.
“O’Connor is now known perhaps as much for her bizarre, unhinged internet rants as for her music,” the suit reads.
Hall claims that O’Connor had little contact with Prince and has “repeatedly admitted that she actually detested Prince during his life.” The suit also says that O’Connor has stated that she only met Prince a couple of times after she recorded his song “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
The suit also says that Hall and O’Connor have only had “minimal contact,” and were last in contact 25 years ago. Hall’s complaint adamantly denies that he ever “spiked” her.
Hall claims that O’Connor’s Facebook post has “spread like wildfire” through the media, “causing substantial harm to Hall’s reputation.”
Prince died April 21, just days after a reported overdose on the opioid painkiller Percocet. The singer reportedly had painkillers in his possession when he was found unresponsive in the elevator of his Paisley Park home in Minnesota.
As reported earlier this week, the day before Prince’s death, his staffers had arranged for California-based addiction expert Dr. Howard Kornfeld to treat the musician. He was due to arrive the day after Prince’s death.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.