Wednesday, May 20, 2026

R&B Superstar Stephanie Mills Sends Harsh Letter to Essence Festival for Unprofessionalism, Plus Lauryn Hill Had a 3am Show

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The Essence Music Festival in New Orleans this past weekend sounds like a disaster.

R&B superstar Stephanie Mills sounds like she had a bad time. She just posted a letter to the festival taking them to task for poor management, timing, production — all of it.

Lauryn Hill got seared for being hours late and performing to few people when she finally showed up at 3am. Even Mariah Carey knows better than that (although I once saw Prince at 2am).

The festival has issued an apology, but it’s too late. Guests and press came home hot, cranky, and with regrets. But this seems to be the essence of Essence. Don’t know why after all these years.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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