Prince. Photo courtesy of FactMag.
Summary: Pop star Sinead O’Conner claimed comedian Arsenio Hall was responsible for Prince’s death by supplying him with drugs for decades. Hall responded by slapping her with a $5 million lawsuit.
Sinead O’Conner can eat her dinner in a fancy restaurant, but nothing compares 2 getting sued. Yesterday, the “Nothing Compares 2 U” songstress was slammed with a $5 million defamation lawsuit by former late night host Arsenio Hall, The Hollywood Reporter stated. Apparently, O’Conner believes that Hall was a celebrity drug dealer, and she felt the need to broadcast that on Facebook.
Arsenio Hall. Photo courtesy of Vibe.
TMZ posted that O’Conner wrote on Facebook, “Two words for the DEA investigating where (sic) prince got his drugs over the decades … Arsenio Hall (AKA Prince’s and Eddie Murphy’s bitch).”
Although now mostly-known for her political stances and shaved head, O’Conner was a huge pop star back in the day, thanks to the Prince penned song “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Although Prince’s writing helped push her career, she had admitted to the press that she had only met him a few times. However, despite their limited interaction, she recently claimed on Facebook that Hall supplied Prince with drugs for decades. An irate Hall responded by saying she was a “desperate, attention-seeker.”
According to TMZ, O’Conner also made the shocking claim in her rant that Prince once punched her and held her against her will at his compound called Paisley Park outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Unfortunately, the beloved late singer cannot defend himself from these allegations.
To recap, music icon Prince died on April 21 at Paisley Park. Reports originally said he died of the flu, but rumors have circulated that he may have overdosed on drugs.
Hall is being represented by Martin Singer and Lynda Goldman. His attorneys wrote that since O’Conner wrote her post almost a week after Prince’s death the “lies have spread like wildfire.” They filed their lawsuit in Los Angeles County.
Hall and his team seek $5 million in compensatory damages as well as punitive damages.Often in cases like this, the onus of proving the claims is on the defendant, but the lawsuit is complicated because O’Conner is not a U.S. citizen, which makes enforcement and question of jurisdiction difficult. (To read the entire court document, click here.)
This is not the first time the Irish O’Conner has stirred up controversy. In 1992, she famously tore up a picture of The Pope on Saturday Night Live, and in 2013, she penned an open letter to Miley Cyrus, questioning her use of sexuality to sell her music.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter and TMZ