Stefania D'Alessandro/Getty Images, Paras Griffin/BET/Getty Images for BET, Lester Cohen/WireImageThere's a new feud brewing following Prince's death and $5 million is on the line.
E! News recently learned the U.S. Attorney's office and Drug Enforcement Administration are joining the investigation into the 57-year-old legendary singer's April 21 death. Irish rocker Sinéad O'Connor, whose biggest hit, the 1990 ballad "Nothing Compares 2 U," was written by Prince, recently took to Facebook to rant against actor and comedian Arsenio Hall, accusing him of supplying Prince with drugs and of "spiking" her "years ago" at his Coming to America co-star Eddie Murphy's house.
On Thursday, Hall's lawyer filed a $5 million libel lawsuit against O'Connor at a Los Angeles court. She has not responded to it.
"Desperate, attention-seeker Sinéad O'Connor has maliciously published outlandish defamatory lies about comedian Arsenio Hall," the documents state. "The malicious statements made by O'Connor are absolutely false and O'Connor's heinous accusations that Hall engaged in this criminal conduct are despicable, fabricated lies."
O'Connor had written on her Facebook page Monday, "Two words for the DEA investigating where prince got his drugs over the decades.... Arsenio Hall (AKA Prince's and Eddie Murphy's bitch)...Arsenio I've reported you to the Carver County Sherrif's office. Expect their call. They are aware you spiked me years ago at Eddie Murphy's house. You best get tidying your man cave. [sic]."
A day later, she penned a more than 1,400-word rant against the actor and comic, adding that a truncated version of his first name "sounds like Arse Hole, in a Limerick accent."
Hall's lawsuit states he has "only had minimal contact with O'Connor," most recently 25 years ago, and that since she posted "her malicious and reckless lies" about him on Facebook, they "have spread like wildfire across the media through the United States and the world, causing substantial harm to Hall's reputation." It also says O'Connor's "lies" expose Hall to "hatred, contempt, ridicule and obloquy" and/or cause him to be "shunned or avoided" and "have a tendency" to "injure" him in his occupation.
In a libel suit, a person must prove the other published untrue statements about them that also caused harm to them or their reputation.
Hall's lawyers also state in the documents that O'Connor is "now known perhaps for her bizarre, unhinged Internet rants as for her music" and that she "is well known for her media antics and for seeking attention through inflammatory Facebook posts and other attention-grabbing media tactics."
The singer had made headlines last November when she ranted about her exes and said she had "taken an overdose." Fans called the police and authorities found her safe and administered medical assistance. The singer, who has battled depression, had also told The Sun in 2012 she had "taken an overdose" a week prior. Months earlier, O'Connor received a police visit after posting suicidal tweets.