Very soon after the devastated earthquake in Haiti this past January, Wyclef Jean began doing the television rounds, making a massive fundraising push for his Haitian-based charity, Yele Haiti. Wyclef became one of the faces of the tragedy, just because he was and is one of the most prominent Haitians in the world of celebrity/infotainment news. So – with that kind of name recognition, it’s easy to see why Wyclef is considering a run for Haiti’s president. But I have bigger problems with this news, and so will many other people. First, Wyclef’s news:
Wyclef Jean for president?
There are reports that the musician is mulling a run for the top office in Haiti. Reached by phone, Jean told CNN that talk of a campaign is a bit premature as he is still mulling it over.
“I can’t sing forever,” Jean said.
The Canadian publication Le Droit reported over the weekend that Jean would be throwing his hat into the political ring in his native homeland. But Jean told CNN that such reports reflect him being “drafted” but he hasn’t decided for sure yet.
He added that he has filled out the necessary paperwork in case he does decide to move forward with a candidacy. Jean has been an outspoken proponent of Haiti through his Yele Haiti Foundation and was one of the first celebrities to offer aid after the devastating earthquake.
“Wyclef’s commitment to his homeland and its youth is boundless, and he will remain its greatest supporter regardless of whether he is part of the government moving forward,” said a statement released by his foundation. “At this time, Wyclef Jean has not announced his intent to run for Haitian president. If and when a decision is made, media will be alerted immediately. Please let us know if we can help with anything else.”
[From CNN]
On one side it would be interesting to see someone like Wyclef not only run for office in Haiti but actually have to do the heavy lifting of governing the notoriously and historically corrupt country. On the other side, Wyclef has some notorious corruption on his side, too. Just a few short weeks after the earthquake, various analysts began giving the Yele Haiti charity a thorough examination and they discovered that Yele Haiti was rife with financial shenanigans, wasting thousands of dollars and that Wyclef himself might have even dipped into the charity’s coffers for personal reasons. Later, after the Haiti telethon, Yele Haiti didn’t get its piece of the pie, and instead that money went to larger charities doing work in Haiti. So while I can’t say that Wyclef is a financial fraud, there is totally enough information out there to cast serious doubt on Wyclef’s potential candidacy. Also: there’s some sex scandal stuff too – something about Wyclef’s wife finding naked photos of one of his employees on his phone. Ah, politics!
Wylcef on March 15 & April 15, 2010. Credit: WENN.
haven’t Haiti suffered enough, s’il vous plait Wyclef SIT.DOWN.
Hate him. Sounds like any other politician to me. Im concerned but can he really screw up Haiti more than it is?
In a time when notoriously ignorant celebrities have more political relevance than actual politicians (Angelina Jolie and Bono, anyone?), and some “politicians” are dying to become full blown celebrities (as is the case of that insufferable woman Sarah Palin), it is only natural that a third string musician with doubtful credentials would contemplate becoming the president of a country. After all, he is probably well known enough and already has a good publicist. What else does he need?
I find this to be embarrassing. Wyclef Jean is a thief, and he milked the earthquake for all its worth in order to publicize himself and his main source of income… I mean, his very transparent charity Yele Haiti (insert an eye roll here). He shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a position of power, which he can use to steal and defraud at will, without any significant consequence.
He should take a lesson from Sean Penn who’s been down there since right after the earthquake, living in a tent and working at ground zero. While I think Penn is a bit of an arrogant loose canon, he raises money, oversees how it’s spent, and works closely with the military, medical and other legitimate aid agencies. He doesn’t ponce around with faux fund-raisers and questionable charities to try to enhance an irreparably tarnished image. Wyclef, you’re a douche-bag…
@Pont Neuf, excellent points.
Financial and sexual scandals? He sounds like a perfect Haitian politician.
UGH!
“…there is totally enough information out there to cast serious doubt on Wyclef’s potential candidacy”
Actually, given their history, Haiti considers those scandals “credibility.”
Wyclef is very involved behind the scenes (and publically)with helping Haiti not only recover and rebuild but become a more viable economic player. There is a lot of foundational building going on in Haiti right now. Infrastructure rebirth is what is key right now and he among many others currently have a hand in this.
Do I think his love for his people and his homeland should translate into a presidential run at this time. Well that would just be an opinion, so who cares frankly. But I do think he could better serve Haiti in the way he currently is, by bringing fiananced projects, money and awareness to Haiti.
@ Canucklehead: Exactly what I was thinking.
Sad to say, but with his ethically-challenged background, he’d fit right in to the Haitian political scene.
His slogan will be: I will run the country like I ran the Yele Foundation, (into the ground). Haven’t those people suffered enough with a terrible economy, horrible living conditions, before and after the quake, a devastated infrastructure and a history of corrupt leaders? Sit down Wyclef.
…And his qualifications are??? What a fekking moron. That makes less sense than a redhead Irish lass like myself running for president of Haiti…and I’ve never been involved in any scandals…
I just played a video game where I ran a restaurant. Maybe I should open one.
Brangelina posed with him for Haiti photographs & to publicize his Haiti charity.
Oh poo, you see I’ve been studying politics at university for three years but apparently I need to shimmy down the road and enroll in the school of music *sigh*
Perhaps everyone involved including Wyclef Jean would be much better off supporting a much more disciplined statesman in the role of President. I really admire his ambition to be of service to his native Haitians; however, he may not be ready to undertake such an enormous task at this particular time. Politics is not all about being a charismatic front man.
THIEF. LIAR. CLOWN. Sit down, Wyclef and let the grown ups run things.
He should be a very good president indeed!