Lauryn Hill has fired back at her bandmate Pras Michél, who has sued her for breach of contract and mismanagement of funds related to a 2023 reunion tour.
According to the multiple award winner, the claims by her team member are “baseless” and “full of false claims.”
She stated that her decision to stay silent on the suit was due to several factors. But now it appears she has the confidence to speak and defend herself.
“Fact #1: This baseless lawsuit by Pras is full of false claims and unwarranted attacks. It notably omits that he was an advanced overpayment for the last tour and has failed to repay substantial loans extended by myself as an act of goodwill.
“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.”
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Hill added that the tour included the Fugees because she learnt Pras was in financial trouble and needed funds for his legal defense, and that Pras received a $3 million advance from the tour to help cover his legal fees.
“…I covered most of the tour expenses, as most of the tour advance had gone to Pras. An agreement was put in place to secure the repayment of his advanced money,” she noted…Pras has not paid back the money he was advanced and is currently in breach of this agreement.
“Fact #4: 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). Pras basically just had to show up and perform.”
Lauryn said she was upset by their legal conflict given the close friendship between her and Pras.
Pras Michél’s suit, reported early this week, indicated, among other things, that Lauryn Hill “completely mismanaged” the setup, marketing, and budgeting of their canceled 2023 tour.
He believed the show could have been “a huge commercial success since most of the shows for the entire arena size tour were sold out in advance.”
The rapper, who released a diss song in August, also asserted that Hill controlled the tour budget, which had bloated and fictitious expenses.
He further alleged that Lauryn rejected a $5 million offer for the Fugees to perform at the 2024 Coachella music festival because she felt “snubbed” that a different artiste was named as the headliner for the concert.
