Lauryn Hill Sued for Fraud, Breach of Contract by Fugees' Pras Michel After Miseducation Anniversary Tour Cancellation

In the lawsuit, Michel claims that Hill and her touring company MLH had "complete control over the business aspects of the tour." Hill responded by calling Michel's lawsuit "baseless"

• Ms. Lauryn Hill has been sued by The Fugees' bandmate Pras Michel

• Michel is suing Hill over claims of fraud and breach of contract over their shortened 2023 tour and quietly canceled the Miseducation anniversary tour in 2024

• In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Hill called the lawsuit "baseless" and "full of false claims and unwarranted attacks"

Ms. Lauryn Hill has been sued by The Fugees' bandmate Pras Michel over claims of fraud and breach of contract over their shortened 2023 run and quietly canceled the Miseducation anniversary tour in 2024.

In the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Oct. 1, which also cites Hill's touring company MLH, Michel, 51, alleges that the vocalist and her touring company MLH had "complete control over the business aspects of the tour which allowed her to have a total lack of transparency over the tour’s management, including the handling of money."

Other claims listed in the filing include fraud in the inducement, breach of fiduciary duty, accounting and refusal to permit an audit of the Fugees’ tour.

Related: Ms. Lauryn Hill and the Fugees Unveil New Miseducation Anniversary Tour Dates

According to the suit, Michel claims that Hill, 49, and MLH neglected to pay all of the expenses she had budgeted for with regards to The Fugees' 2023 run, including hotel and credit card bills, musicians and crew, which he claims are still "due and owing, in whole or in part." Michel also claims that Hill's handling of the 2023 tour “was actually a veiled and devious attempt to make a big score for herself.”

The complaint alleges that the 2023 tour should have been “a huge commercial success, since most of the shows for the entire arena size tour were sold out in advance.” But Michel claims that the tour budget “was so bloated with unnecessary and, most likely fictitious, expenses, that it seemed designed to lose money,” and he was left empty-handed. The 2023 tour was abbreviated when Hill decided to cancel the second half of the run in November 2023 claiming she was experiencing "serious vocal strain."

In the lawsuit, Michel alleges that Hill has "narcissistic tendencies" and includes anecdotes that claim as such, including one about how Hill turned down $5 million to perform at Coachella because "her ego was bruised" when No Doubt received top billing.

“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,” the complaint reads. “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.”

After a lackluster solo tour, Michel believes that Hill pitched bandmate Wyclef Jean the idea of doing a 25th-anniversary Miseducation tour with The Fugees in May or June 2023, which he claims she realized was "the only chance for her to sell tickets for shows at arena-size venues, and feed her insatiable ego," the suit states.

During that time, Michel was in the midst of a four-year legal battle with the U.S. Department of Justice as a co-defendant alongside financier Jho Low, who allegedly stole $4.5 billion from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, known as 1MDB, and he alleges that Hill exploited his "vulnerability," per the complaint. (In April 2023, Michel was found guilty of conspiring to help China influence the U.S. government. He was found guilty of witness tampering, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, reported The New York Times.)

Because of the tour cancellation, Michel struggled to pay his legal bills and left him owing nearly $1 million since he claims "Hill was taking 40% of the tour guarantees and tour net profits 'off the top' for herself, leaving the remaining 60% to be split equally between Hill, Michel and Wyclef," according to the suit.

Without disclosing it to Michel, Hill had allegedly entered into a new agreement with Live Nation for a Fugees tour to kick off in August 2024. Ticket sales for the show were struggling, which Michel blames on Hill, whom he claims “had taken far too long to close the deal with Live Nation [and] there was little or no marketing for the tour, and not enough time between the announcement and the first concert date to do sufficient advance sales to justify the tour.”

Because of that, the tour was canceled in August. At the time, Hill shared a statement that said: “Last year, I faced an injury that necessitated the rescheduling of some of my shows. Regrettably, some media outlets’ penchant for sensationalism and clickbait headlines have seemingly created a narrative that has affected ticket sales for the North American portion of the tour.”

Additionally, Michel claimed that Hill's "habit of showing up late for shows" has “tarnished the Fugees brand."

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Hill called Michel's lawsuit "baseless" and "full of false claims and unwarranted attacks."

"It notably omits that he was advanced overpayment for the last tour and has failed to repay substantial loans extended by myself as an act of goodwill," said Hill. "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."

Hill added that the 2023 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."

"Pras was given a $3M advance for the tour, which he said he required to pay his legal fees," said Hill. "Wyclef and Myself deferred our full advances to make sure he had what he needed and was able to go. I covered most of the tour expenses, as the majority of the tour advance had gone to Pras. An agreement was put in place to secure the repayment of the money he was advanced. Pras has not paid back the money he was advanced, and is currently in breach of this agreement."

Hill claims that she "absorbed most of the expenses" of touring herself since The Fugees set used the same production and her tour, band, production, and set up were already happening.

Related: The Fugees' Pras Michel Shares Frustrations with Lauryn Hill on Diss Track amid Miseducation Anniversary Tour Cancellation

"Pras basically just had to show up and perform," she said.

Hill added, "I am not in the business of kicking anyone, especially when they’re down, which is why I haven’t responded to date."

In the statement, Hill also claimed she "was not in Pras' life when he decided to make the unfortunate decision that led to his current legal troubles."

"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 said.

Formed in the late 1980s in New Jersey, The Fugees are known as one of the most influential hip-hop groups of the 1990s. Their final album The Score, released in 1996, was certified seven times platinum sales by the RIAA.

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