Lauryn Hill was sued this week by her former Fugees bandmate Pras Michéle, who is accusing the Grammy award-winning singer-rapper of getting their 25th anniversary comeback tour canceled, according to a lawsuit obtained by TheWrap.
“Betrayals are always sinister, but the closer the betrayer, the greater the evil. Some say that God gives you friends to make up for your family,” attorneys for Michél wrote the suit’s introduction, which was filed in New York’s Southern District Court on Tuesday. “The Lord must have been off the day he paired Lauryn Hill with Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel, the plaintiff in this action, because the betrayal among the forged Fugees family has risen to Mythic proportions. This is their tale of woe.”
A representative for Hill did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
The suit claims Hill’s big-headedness ruined the group’s chances of having “huge commercial success” with their 2023 tour, which they quietly canceled in August 2024, adding that Hill’s “arrogance,” “narcissistic tendencies” and her control over the tour’s budget ultimately led to the opportunity burning. The document goes on to say that Hill and MLH Touring “created a tour budget was so bloated with unnecessary and, most likely fictitious, expenses, that it seemed designed to lose money — at least on its face.”
The Fugees announced their reunion tour, titled The MisEducation Anniversary” tour in 2021. It was postponed and then officially canceled in January 2022.
“Second, it was mismanaged. Third, the tour was cut short when, in November 2023, Hill abruptly and unilaterally canceled the second half of the tour,” the document read. “The reason she cited was “serious vocal strain.’ That was the third bitter pull for Michél, as it cut the potential financial upside for the group in half. Hill further tarnished the Fugees brand once fans became increasingly upset and disenchanted with Hill’s habit of showing up late for shows, sometimes by as many as two to three hours.”
Noting Hill’s “arrogance” again, the lawsuit claimed the singer’s “ego” compelled her to turn down a chance to perform at Coachella because she was allegedly upset over the group not receiving a top spot over rock band No Doubt.
“In April 2024, Hill’s arrogance was again demonstrated when she unilaterally rejected a $5 million offer for the Fugees to perform at the Coachella festival,” it read. “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 Michél about the offer or that she had rejected it. Michél only learned about it when it was too late, after Hill, in an astonishing display of hubris, asked Michél 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 goes on to say that because of her previously failed solo tour, Hill “realized that the only chance for her to sell tickets for shows at arena size venues, and feed her insatiable ego, would be to reunite with Michél and Wyclef,” which Wyclef pitched as an idea for a 25th Anniversary tour to the group in 2023.
