People News

Wyclef Jean strikes out at alleged 'cocaine sniffing' Sean Penn through song

By April MacIntyre Sep 6, 2010, 16:47 GMT

US actor Sean Penn load the belongings of an earthquake victim during the moving to a new camp in Corail, northeast or Port au Prince, Haiti, 10 April 2010. EPA/Andres Martinez Casares

Wyclef Jean, who nearly ran for president of Haiti, spoke to actor Sean Penn and his bandmate Pras through some lyrics as Jean performed for New York radio station Hot 97's On the Reggae Tip concert Friday night, where he laid it out in song:

"I got a message for Sean Penn/ Maybe he ain't see me in Haiti because he was too busy sniffing cocaine/ I got a message for Praswell/ Even though you don't want to support me/ I got love for you/Even though you only kicked 8 bars in the Fugees
'Maybe [Penn] ain't see me in Haiti because he was too busy sniffing cocaine,' 'Clef sings in concert.

When Wyclef announced he was to run for president of earthquake ravaged Haiti in August, Penn and Jean's former Fugees bandmate Pras publicly questioned 'Clef's political credentials.

When Jean spoke about his plans to run for Haiti's head of state on CNN, Penn appeared on the network and expressed his concerns about the singer's motivations for seeking political office.

Penn has lived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti for months to help manage 50,000 displaced Haitians living in a camp.

"What the Haitian people need now is a leader who is genuinely willing to sacrifice," Penn said. "I haven't seen or heard anything of him in these last six months that I've been in Haiti. I think he's an important voice. I hope he doesn't sacrifice that voice by taking the eye off the very devastating realities on the ground."

Penn mentioned past allegations that Jean mishandled funds from his nonprofit organization Yele Haiti and used some of the money donated for Haitians.

MTV News also reported that Wyclef's bandmate Pras had questioned Wyclef's proposed plans for revitalizing the country after the disaster.