Wyclef's Most Controversial Moments
A look at the rapper-producer's many dramas over the years.
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Wyclef's Most Controversial Moments - Remember when Wyclef Jean actually made music? In recent years, it seems the only thing he's been making is headlines. 'Clef's new biography, Purpose, dropped today, Sept. 18, and it contains quite a few a bombshells. In the book, Jean claims that former Fugees bandmate Lauryn Hill tricked him into believing her first-born son, Zion, was actually his son instead of Rohan Marley's and that the lie led to the band's 1997 breakup. “In that moment something died between us. I was married and Lauryn and I were having an affair, but she led me to believe that the baby was mine, and I couldn’t forgive that,” he wrote. “She could no longer be my muse. Our love spell was broken.” But this isn't the first time Wyclef has been the center of some serious controversy. Read on for a look at the rapper-producer's many dramas over the years. —Alex G...
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Wyclef Accused of Pulling Gun on Magazine Editor - Back in 1998, Jesse Washington, the editor-in-chief of Blaze magazine, accused Wyclef of pulling a gun on him in response to a bad review of Can-I-Bus' self-titled debut, which 'Clef produced. Wyclef denied the charges. (Photo: KMazur/WireImage)
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Lauryn Strikes First - Amid swirling rumors that Wyclef had a secret affair with former bandmate Lauryn, her blockbluster solo debut, 1998's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, contained several moving songs about bitter heartbreak — which many assumed were about Wyclef. (Photo: Columbia Records)
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Wyclef's Charity Accused of Funny Business - Wyclef's charity, Yele Haiti, raised millions of dollars in the days after a deadly 2010 earthquake hit his homeland. But soon after, reports that the charity was squandering money emerged, seemingly by the day. According to the New York Post, Yele Haiti’s coffers swelled to $16 million in 2010, but less than a third of that went to emergency efforts. Critics also charged that the charity funneled money to companies closely connected to 'Clef that didn't have anything to do with earthquake relief, such as a New York recording studio and a Haitian TV station. Wyclef admitted there had been mistakes allocating funds, but denied he ever benefitted personally from any of the donations. (Photo: Larry Busacca/WireImage for Dada Entertainment)
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Wyclef Runs for President in Haiti - In a surprise move, Wyclef announced that he was running for president of Haiti in 2010, just months after the devastating earthquake. Many criticized the move as a publicity ploy, saying Wyclef lacked the political experience needed to turn around the troubled country. He was eventually disqualified from the run due to residency requirements. (Photo: Frederic Dupoux/Getty Images)
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Wyclef Accused of Having Affair With Yele Exec - Wyclef and Yele came under fire again after online reports claimed he was having an affair with Zakiya Khatou-Chevassus, his personal assistant and the vice president of the charity — and that she received a disproportionately high salary as a result. In 2011, tax returns showed Khatou-Chevassus had received a massive $42,000 pay raise from 2008, bumping her overall annual income to $147,000 — nearly $15,000 more than Yele's president. (Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Carte Blanche International)
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More Infidelity Rumors - Wyclef was accused of mixing work and pleasure yet again in 2010, when tabloids said his wife, Marie Claudinette, had found nude pics of his beautiful manager, Lisa Ellis, on his phone. Claudinette reportedly forced Clef to fire Ellis, and also e-mailed the photo to various people in the music biz. Clef and Ellis both denied the reports. (Photo: Joe Kohen/WireImage)
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Police Claim Wyclef Lied About Being Shot - Wyclef made headlines again in 2011 when he claimed he was shot while campaigning in Haiti. Local police, however, disagreed, insisting that 'Clef actually only suffered a minor cut due to broken glass. (Photo: AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
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Wyclef Imples He Has an Open Marriage - Clef seemed to hint that he had "open marriage" with his wife, Marie Claudinette, in a 2007 interview. "The bottom line is that as human beings, we make mistakes. But we all need rocks behind you — a strong woman," he said. "No matter how it goes down, a rock is a rock. If you choose to have an entire existence with someone; there's going to be ups and there's going to be downs. There's no problem. I think that as human beings, there will be mistakes. You grow from the mistakes. If my rock does something, I'm not gonna go crazy, and if I do something, she won't go crazy." (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images for NAACP)
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Uncle Sam Says Wyclef Owes Millions - In 2010, federal tax liens showed that Wyclef owed the IRS an eye-popping $2.1 million. 'Clef claimed he was working with the agency to pay down the debt. (Photo: George De Sota/Getty Images)