Ms. Lauryn Hill is facing a lawsuit from her Fugees bandmate Pras Michel, who has accused her of fraud and breach of contract regarding their shortened 2023 tour and the quietly canceled Miseducation anniversary tour in 2024.
In the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Oct. 1, which also names Hill’s touring company MLH, Michel, 51, claims that Hill and her company had “complete control over the business aspects of the tour,” resulting in a lack of transparency in the management, particularly concerning financial matters.
Additional allegations in the filing include fraud in the inducement, breach of fiduciary duty, issues with accounting, and a refusal to allow an audit of the Fugees’ tour.
The lawsuit states that Michel alleges Hill, 49, and MLH failed to cover all the expenses they had budgeted for The Fugees’ 2023 tour, including hotel and credit card bills, as well as payments for musicians and crew, which he claims are still “due and owing, in whole or in part.”
Michel further asserts that Hill’s management of the 2023 tour was “a veiled and devious attempt to make a big score for herself.”
The complaint argues that the 2023 tour had the potential to be “a huge commercial success,” as most shows for the arena-sized tour were sold out in advance.
However, Michel contends that the tour budget was “so bloated with unnecessary and, most likely fictitious, expenses, that it seemed designed to lose money,” leaving him empty-handed.
The tour was shortened when Hill chose to cancel the second half in November 2023, citing “serious vocal strain.”
In the lawsuit, Michel claims that Hill exhibits “narcissistic tendencies” and shares anecdotes to support this, including one about her turning down a $5 million offer to perform at Coachella because “her ego was bruised” by No Doubt receiving top billing.
The complaint states, “Hill’s arrogance was again demonstrated when she unilaterally rejected a $5 million offer [to play Coachella]. 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.”
It continues, “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.”
The Fugees, formed in New Jersey in the late 1980s, are recognized as one of the most influential hip-hop groups of the 1990s. Their last album, The Score, which came out in 1996, achieved seven times platinum sales certification from the RIAA.
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