Shortly after a bullet reportedly grazed his hand during a trip to Haiti, Wyclef Jean is speaking out about his injury. The Haitian musician recounted his brush with death and fired back at rumors that his story was fabricated.


The former Fugees member, who refused to speculate on whether the attack was politically motivated, offered his take on what happened on the eve of the presidential election in his native country. “We hear what’s called in Creole ‘catoosh,’ the sound of the booms. Jumped in the car with [Haitian artist] FanFan, ran, picked my crew up, and went to the nearest hospital,” he told CNN with Pras by his side. “I think really, I got grazed, I think. Pras, when he put on Twitter that his cousin just got shot in the hand…”

Pras, who recently patched up his longtime beef with Wyclef, said he’d rather the media focus on the current Haitian election instead of the recent incident. “We don’t really want to focus on that, because we think it’s just a distraction from what’s going on with the election,” he stated. “We don’t really want to play it up because people are going to take it the wrong way and it’s going to excite the people. People are going to come up in arms. We want this election to be as smooth as possible.”

“That’s really where we at,” added ‘Clef, who is supporting fellow Haitian musician Michel Martelly’s bid for presidency. “But there’s 50 million different stories on the Internet.”

There has been speculation that he was injured by cut glass instead of a bullet. “This is Haiti, it’s a city of rumors,” he told the AP as he went to vote. “There’s another [rumor] with me and Busta Rhymes in the car.”

Wyclef Jean has been released from the hospital after being shot in the hand in his native Haiti.


The former Fugees member was treated for a gunshot wound to his hand, a spokesman for Jean tells The Associated Press.

The incident occurred after 11 p.m. Saturday in the city of Delmas, near Port-au-Prince, when armed gunmen reportedly opened fire on Jean’s vehicle. His fellow Fugees member Pras and brother Samuel confirmed the reports.

“Yes they shot Wyclef and he’s in the hospital and he’ll be fine. They just shot his hand,” tweeted Pras. “Everyone can relax Wyclef is fine… They can’t stop us not one bullet or a machine gun!!!!!!!”

The shooting comes on the eve of the presidential elections in Haiti. Jean is supporting fellow Haitian musician Michel Martelly.

The hat Wyclef Jean had tossed into the political ring has been tossed back.

The Haiti-born singer-songwriter did not make the final list of approved candidates who satisfy legal requirements to run in his native country's presidential election, an electoral official tells the Los Angeles Times. The main reason is that Jean, 39, lives primarily in New Jersey – and not on the Caribbean island.

"He is not on the list as I speak," said the official, whose identity was not revealed.

The hat Wyclef Jean had tossed into the political ring has been tossed back.

The Haiti-born singer-songwriter did not make the final list of approved candidates who satisfy legal requirements to run in his native country's presidential election, an electoral official tells the Los Angeles Times. The main reason is that Jean, 39, lives primarily in New Jersey – and not on the Caribbean island.

"He is not on the list as I speak," said the official, whose identity was not revealed.

Jean had left Haiti at the age of 9, for Brooklyn, N.Y.

One of 34 hopefuls in Haiti's Nov. 28 election, Jean and his potential candidacy brought some much-needed excitement to the island, which on Jan. 12 was ravaged by a devastating earthquake.

So far, there has been no comment from the musician.