Wyclef Jean Gets Musical Revenge on Politcal Critics

The ex-candidate talks back to Sean Penn and Praswell after failed bid

There's nothing like the power of music to bring people together. Wyclef Jean has proved it can also be used to bring people apart, as he smacked down two of the most vocal critics of his run for top office in Haiti.

While strumming sweetly on his guitar, Wyclef sang not-so-sweet verses to actor Sean Penn and former Fugee bandmate Praswell last Thursday at a reggae concert sponsored by New York radio station Hot 97.

"I got a message for Sean Penn, maybe he ain't see me in Haiti because he was too busy sniffing cocaine," Wycelf inserted into they lyrics of his song, 'If I Was President."

The Haitian-American musician was obviously still bitter about his bid to become Haitian president, derailed this August when Haitian government officials disqualified him from the election.

But it didn't end with Penn. Wyclef's rebuttle continued:

"I got a message for Praswell, even though you don't want to support me, I got love for you, even though you don't want to support me, I got love for you, even though you only kicked eight bars for the Fugees."

Penn, who was also volunteering at Haiti in the wake of the winter earthquake, spoke against Wyclef's bid to Wolfe Blitzer on CNN a month ago. He jabbed at the hip-hop star's misappropriated $400,000 Yele charity funds and questioned his dedication to Haiti's recovery.

Penn said, "I'm not accusing Wyclef Jean of being an opportunist, I don't know the man... One of the reasons I don't know very much about Wyclef Jean is that I haven't seen or heard anything of him in these last six months that I've been in Haiti."

Praswell joined Penn in a chorus of criticism when he told the Wall Street Journal his beloved bandmate wasn't the best candidate for the job.

"Wyclef is a dear friend. He's a brother. He's a cousin. It's just politics. It's a matter of, do I believe that he can take Haiti to where it needs to go to? No...I don't think Wyclef is fit to go in and lead."

Haiti's electoral council was on the same page as Pras and Penn, ruling that the musician did not have the required five-year residency to run and could not make it to the ballot.

Wyclef will just have to make do with singing about president, rather than acting as one.

Selected Reading: Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Gawker 

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