Bad Blood Between Pras, Lauryn Hill Leads to Suit

Fugees rapper Pras sued his bandmate Lauryn Hill for fraud on Tuesday over the group's shortened 2023 reunion tour, saying she took advantage of his criminal conviction to force an unfair contract on him. The lawsuit filed in a federal court by Prakazrel "Pras" Michel, a founding member of the Fugees along with Hill and Wyclef Jean, alleges that Hill "swooped in" after his "unjust" verdict in a federal criminal conspiracy case, and he had no choice but to accept her onerous terms because he was in need of money. The suit claims she proceeded to hide the books from him, financially defrauding and penalizing him. The tour was curtailed in November, with Hill telling fans she was suffering from "serious vocal strain," reports the New York Times. More:

• Some of the suit's dramatic language: "The Lord must have been off the day he paired Lauryn Hill with Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel, the plaintiff in this action, because the betrayal among the forged Fugees family has risen to Mythic proportions. This is their tale of woe."
• Another allegation: The lawsuit also alleges Hill spoiled the tour by showing up hours late, and says that the tour's true draw was the reunion, not Hill, but she "nevertheless insisted on relegating 'The Fugees' billing to coequal or secondary status after her name. This was the first bitter pill Michel had to swallow."
• Hill responds: Hill counters that the 2023 tour was put together as a solo celebration of her 1998 solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and it would have taken place with the Fugees or not. Hill said that the Fugees were added to the tour because she discovered Pras was "in trouble and would need money to aid his legal defense."
• Hill responds II: Hill called the lawsuit "baseless" with "false claims and unwarranted attacks," in a statement to the AP. She wrote that the lawsuit "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," totaling $3 million, putting him in breach of contract.

• Pras' legal woes: Pras was found guilty in April 2023 of 10 counts related to multimillion-dollar political conspiracies spanning two presidencies, including charges of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. Michel was accused of funneling money from a Malaysian financer through straw donors to Barack Obama's 2012 reelection campaign, then trying to squelch a DOJ investigation and influence an extradition case on behalf of China under the Trump administration. He faces up to 20 years in prison. He is free ahead of sentencing, which has not yet been set.
• Where the tour comes into play: After his conviction, Michel's attorney pleaded guilty to leaking grand jury information to reporters, and he was left without representation. Needing to pay for attorneys, Michel accepted unfair terms so he could receive an advance on his share of tour money, his lawsuit says. "Ms. Hill misrepresented critical financial information and concealed her intent to take an excessive 60% share of the tour's proceeds, leaving Mr. Michel with only 20% instead of the group's customary one-third split," Michel's attorney said in a statement.
• What Pras is seeking: The lawsuit asks that a judge void the tour contract and order an accounting of its finances. It seeks both actual and punitive damages to be determined at trial.

(More Lauryn Hill stories.)