Lauryn Hill sued by Fugees’ Pras Michél for fraud over cancelled tour

Lauryn Hill is being sued by fellow Fugees member Pras Michel for fraud and breach of contract following the cancellation of live dates. 

Pras, co-founder of the hip hop group, claims the vocalist’s “arrogance” and “narcissistic tendencies” effectively sabotaged the band’s comeback shows. 

According to a lawsuit filed in New York, first obtained by Variety, the complainant argues the 2023 ‘Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ tour would have been “a huge commercial success” based on up-front sales. However, the namesake artist used the opportunity as a “veiled and devious” way to profit, siphoning money from tour guarantees. Breach of fiduciary duty and refusal to allow an audit of tour finances were also included in the claims. 

According to Pras, Hill’s attempt to market the dates as Lauryn Hill celebrating 25 years of her debut solo LP, rather than a Fugees reunion, initially failed, and it was only when the other two members — Pras and Wyclef Jean — were confirmed that demand picked up. 

Last November, it was announced some of the concerts would need to be postponed due to Hill suffering “serious vocal strain”. Then, 2024’s shows were “quietly” pulled with little notice. Pras believes this was down to “gross mismanagement”, and says Hill was in charge of budgets. A rejected offer of $5million to play Coachella festival is also cited, with Hill allegedly turning this down after discovering they would not be the headline act. 

“She unilaterally rejected a $5m offer [to play Coachella],” the lawsuit reads. “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 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,” it continued.

Pras has previously accused Hill of “tarnishing the Fugees brand” with late appearances at performances, and even dropped a diss track targeting her after the most recent cancellations. According to a report in The Guardian, this week she took to the stage at 3AM in Nairobi, Kenya, for a show slated to begin at 8PM. 

Hill has consistently pushed back against critics, and this week issued a statement labelling the new lawsuit as “baseless” and “full of false claims and unwarranted attacks”. She also suggested details of money paid to Pras in advance from the tour were omitted, which had been agreed to help with costs related to his conviction for illegal lobbying and channeling funds into Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign. 

“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. 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,” said Hill’s attorney, Howard King. 

In August, Hill released a press statement defending the decision to cancel this summer’s shows. “Regrettably, some media outlets’ penchant for sensationalist and clickbait headlines have seemingly created a narrative that has affected ticket sales for the North American portion of the tour. The trust and faith I have in my intentions and my commitment to my art seem to have been overshadowed by this unfortunate portrayal.”