Ms. Lauryn Hill is slamming Pras Michél’s lawsuit against her, in which he claims she mismanaged Fugees‘ tour and that it was a “devious attempt to make a big score for herself.” In a statement Tuesday, Hill called the suit “baseless,” claiming that she decided to incorporate the Fugees to “aid [Michél’s] legal defense” amid his court battle with the Department of Justice.
“I’ve been silent and pushing through because I understood that Pras was under duress because of his legal battles and that this was perhaps affecting his judgment, state of mind, and character,” Hill wrote in a statement to Rolling Stone, claiming that the lawsuit is “full of false claims and unwarranted attacks.”
In the suit, Michél’s attorneys claim that Hill was taking 40 percent of tour guarantees and net profits while splitting the rest of the 60 percent with Jean and Michél. The attorneys allege that Michél made little money from the Fugees’ 2023 arena tour since she controlled its budget, which allegedly included “unnecessary, and, most likely fictitious, expenses, that seemed to be designed to lose money.”
In her response, Hill said the lawsuit “notably omits” that Michél was given an overpaid advance of $3 million for the last tour and that he had yet to “repay substantial loans” she made to him as an “act of goodwill” so he could pay off his legal fees.
“Last year’s tour was put together to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. It was being planned whether the Fugees were involved or not,” she claimed. “The tour was expanded to incorporate the Fugees because I found out that Pras was in trouble and would need money to aid his legal defense.”
Hill added that she covered “most of the tour expenses” along with the advance sent to Michél. “Pras has not paid back the money he was advanced, and is currently in breach of this agreement,” Hill wrote.
“Because my tour, band, production, and set up were already happening, the Fugees set utilized this same production. I absorbed most of the expenses myself, produced the show, put together the entire set (with Wyclef’s participation for the Fugees and Wyclef’s set),” she wrote. “Pras basically just had to show up and perform.”
“As of the last tour, Pras thanked me for ‘saving his life’ (I have the receipts),” Hill added.
Hill ended her bulleted statement by saying it is “absolutely disheartening” to see Michél “in this position” and pointed back to his legal troubles, which she said she had no role in. At the time of the Fugees tour, Michél was facing large legal fees over a battle with the Department of Justice after being named a co-defendant with Jho Low, who allegedly stole $4.5 billion from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund. Michél was convicted in 2023 for acting as an agent of China, although he was never accused of participating in the theft.
“I was not in Pras’ life when he decided to make the unfortunate decision that led to his current legal troubles,” Hill wrote. “I did not advise that he make that decision and therefore am in no way responsible for his decision and its consequences though I have taken it upon myself to help.”
“Despite his attacks, I am still compassionate and hope things work out for him,” she added, signing the note, “Respetcfully, MLH.”
In a statement to Rolling Stone following Hill’s response, Michél’s legal team called Hill’s response to the lawsuit “categorically false.”
“If she was so responsible with the management of the tour, why has she not sent an accounting to Pras?” wrote Erica Dumas, the publicist for Michel’s attorney Robert Meloni. “Why has she refused him the ability to audit her books and records? Where did the eight figure advance she received from Mammoth go? Most importantly, why has she not addressed the fact that she has tarnished the Fugees brand with her chronic tardiness?”
In an initial statement, Meloni, slammed Hill’s “chronic tardiness” for affecting the tour and how her cancelation of such “financially penalized and defrauded Michél.” (At the time, Hill blamed the media and its “clickbait headlines” about the band’s decision to cancel.)
“We assert that Ms. Hill misrepresented critical financial information and concealed her intent to take an excessive 60 percent share of the tour’s proceeds, leaving Mr. Michel with only 20 percent instead of the group’s customary one-third split,” said Meloni.
Michél’s lawsuit also claimed that Hill rejected a $5 million offer to play Coachella since they would be billed below No Doubt, with Michél claiming he was “never told” about the offer and only learned about it “when it was too late.”
This story was updated at 3:35 p.m. ET to include a statement from a publicist for Pras Michél’s attorney.
From Rolling Stone US
