Did Wyclef Jean Tell the Truth About Being Hit by Bullet in Haiti?
- Posted on March 21, 2011 at 8:50am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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Musician Wyclef Jean is known for telling stories through song as a member of the band The Fugees. But now he’s being accused of being a tall tale-teller, too, for his claim this weekend that a bullet grazed his hand as he stepped out of a car to make a telephone call in Haiti. 
Jean, who has been in Haiti helping the presidential campaign of his friend and fellow musician Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly, said the bullet grazed him late Saturday night as he stepped out of his car in the Delmas section of the capital, Port-au-Prince, to make a call on his cellphone.
“The way I can explain it is that the bullet grazed me in my right hand,” Jean told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “I heard blow, blow, blow, and I just looked at my hand.”
Jean, who was with a driver and the Haitian hip-hop singer FanFan at the time, said he didn’t know who fired the shots, or whether they were directed at him. He said he got out of the car to have a private conversation that FanFan would not overhear. He heard the shots and looked down to see blood on his shirt and sneakers.
But that’s not the story local police are confirming.
“We met with the doctor who saw him and he confirmed Wyclef was cut by glass,” Vanel Lacroix, police chief in Petionville where Jean is staying, told Reuters, according to the New York Daily News.
Later, Jean was asked by reporters to comment on rumors that he had been injured by broken glass, not a bullet. “This is Haiti; it’s a city of rumors,” he said as he went to vote in the Delmas section of Port-au-Prince. “There’s another one with me and Busta Rhymes in the car.”
A new elastic bandage covered a portion of Jean’s right hand, which he used to cast his ballot. Sitting in the back of a silver Toyota Prado SUV, he showed the AP his ink-stained thumb on his bandaged hand as evidence that he voted.
Jean, a native of Haiti who rocketed to fame as a member of the hip-hop trio The Fugees, came to Haiti to support Martelly, who faces university administrator and former first lady Mirlande Manigat.
Jean had initially sought to be a candidate in the race but Haiti‘s electoral council disqualified him from the ballot because he didn’t meet residency requirements. He has actively campaigned for Martelly, most recently joining him in a concert Thursday in downtown Port-au-Prince that drew thousands of spectators.
“We are happy that Wyclef is OK but we continue to pray for him and for a peaceful and fair election today in Haiti,” the Rev. Al Sharpton, who has worked with Jean on educational issues and bringing aid to Haiti after the devastating January 2010 earthquake, said in a statement.
The statement also quoted Jimmy Rosemond, a music manager said to be accompanying Jean on his current trip to Haiti.
“It is clear that enemies of progressive change in Haiti are behind the shooting of Wyclef – those that don’t want to accept that a monumental change is inevitable for the betterment of the Haitian people,” Rosemond said. “This incident will not deter those of us that see the election as crucial to the country’s future.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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kens
Posted on March 23, 2011 at 9:42amAnd I really care about this because . . . .?
Report Post »MUDFLAPS
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 12:29pmwho is this weenie?
Report Post »Cherynn
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 11:56pmThis is what a true welfare state looks like. This is the model that obummer has for us here. I wonder what Japan will look like in a year? Oh wait, they are going to address and fix there own problems, they dont have time to wait for SOME ONE ELSE TO COME CLEAN UP THIER MESS.
Report Post »LadyLibertykicksASS
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 8:27pmHe wants to be President of Hati….but he’s a gang banger, smokin‘ an jokin’…He’s down there, trying to buy influence and get his name on the ballot…..Be just like BUYING his own little Kingdom..
Report Post »God help those poor people.
Insanityrules
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 7:07pmDid he ever star in a Red Skelton seagull joke?
Never mind. That was Gertude and Heathcliff.
Report Post »Paul -Indiana
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 3:28pmMebbe they should go find someone who cares.
Report Post »suran
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 1:01pmI had never heard of this guy was until after the Haiti earthquake. I recall he was controversial then – things he was saying weren’t quite on the up and up. So, I don‘t think I’d believe anything he said – ever, if I cared to listen to him, but I don’t.
It MUST have been a slow news day.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 10:11pmHe can have one of John Kerry’s purple hearts. Thats how he got them!!!
Report Post »Rob_M
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 12:36pmMaybe it was a glass bullet hehe.
Report Post »marine249
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 12:24pmlate to post but who cares
Report Post »UlyssesP
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 11:36am“Smoke a little crack for the pain and call me in the morning”
Report Post »Mainer forever
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 11:21amWe are happy that Wyclef is OK but we continue to pray for him and for a peaceful and fair election today in Haiti,” the Rev. Al Sharpton, who has worked with Jean on educational issues and bringing aid to Haiti after the devastating January 2010 earthquake, said in a statement.
Report Post »————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Anything that has Al Sharpton involved………need I say more?
MUDFLAPS
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 11:14amwho is this punk?
Report Post »Itchee Dryback
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 10:56amNo WJ…you’re not Bob Marley..and you weren‘t shot at by the ’enemies of change’ no matter how much you would like to play the part.
Report Post »Poser.
ares338
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:53amWho cares? Get some real topics on here please.
Report Post »hauschild
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:44amWho is this dude???
Report Post »eat-more-bacon-USA
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:38amAt Voodoofest in New Orleans – October 24, 2008 – Wyclef Jean “sang” the praises of obama…
Report Post »He riffed on obama’s name and noted that, if he were elected president, he would provide everyone with a quality education, bring the troops back from Iraq, and “legalize it”.
Ken
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:36amHe musta broke his voodoo juice bottle and cut hisself!
Report Post »DVT
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:34amWho?
Report Post »MikeinIdaho
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:33amGetting shot ups his “street cred”. Who cares, but the hoes and the gangsta’s?
Report Post »cemerius
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:24amWoohoo Gold Chains, “B”tchs” and 40′s of OE for Haitti that aught to take away the pain of NO real aid reaching the average person there. Love the comment about the revereand Al and his sbility in “bringing aid”. ha ha ha popularity voting hip hop style!!
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:15amWho is Wyclef Jean and why should I care?
Report Post »TSUNAMI-22
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:28amI’d care if it was Katt Williams……
…no, I wouldn’t.
Report Post »PrfctlyFrank
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:14amSeriously?? Where do you find 25 people that give a load about this idiot and his wound? What is the relevance here except it sounds like Haiti may end up with a rapper for Pres..
Report Post »Leadthemtothelight
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:03am“It is clear that enemies of progressive change in Haiti are behind the shooting of Wyclef-”
Report Post »Really????
Glass vs. Gunshot?
210 million dollars raised for the people of Haiti…..Wanna take bets on what Haiti will look like in 5 years?
drbage
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:38amHaiti today, billions of dollars in aid over the years, looks no different than it did 10, 20, or even 30 years ago. The country is the poster child for evidence of the futility of foreign aid without accountability. They have had one super corrupt administration after another, aided and abetted over the years by the Useless Nitwits–their peacekeepers are among the highest paid people in the country. Has anyone seen Bill recently and questioned him about where the $210 million raised via telethons, etc has gone? Another proof of the future direction of the country is the fact that Wyclef Jean is working with Al Sharpton…Nothing more to be said.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 10:01pmTaller weeds?
Report Post »redneck
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:00amIt was a knife, OJ said it was glass that cut his hand. Jean says it was a bullet?
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 8:55amHonestly does it matter much; release the doctors report for people to make up their own minds on the matter if they deem it important enough.
Report Post »GeneralBeasley
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:04amYeah I‘ll bet him and sharpton are just a couple of good ole’ buddies, I remember earing about when they first got out there after the quake, him and his “entourage” were all rolling through the town in the fancy cars with their large gold chains and diamonds, but i guess they understand, I mean how could they not relate.
Report Post »tobywil2
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:10amMust be a slow news day! http://commonsense21c.com/
Report Post »Stuck_in_CA
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:42amwho cares?
Report Post »N5DVC
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 11:39amBreaking News! Rapper shot! There‘s something you don’t see all the time…
Report Post »sissykatz
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 12:03pmI don‘t believe I have ever heard of this man or if I have maybe he was so insignificant I didn’t commit it to memory. I really do wish they could get someone in charge that is not corrupt so they could help those poor tragic people in Haiti. There has been enough money raised and sent down there to remake it several times. We all know though with “slick willy” and Rev. Sharpton and now the Rappers,helping I’m afraid those people will never get what they need but I think we all can imagine what happened to the money considering the ones involved. Call me a Cynic because I am when these people are involved.
Report Post »