Lauryn Hill has been sentenced to three months in federal prison for failing to pay income taxes on the 1.8 million she earned from 2005-2007, but it’s not her fault you guys! Her ancestors were slaves. Her words, not mine. From TMZ:

The 37-year-old former Fugee pled guilty last year to three counts of tax evasion for failing to file returns on $1.8 million she earned from 2005 to 2007. Lauryn’s attorney asked for mercy because of her charity work and 6 kids … but the judge wasn’t buying it. During the hearing, the judge ordered Hill to report to prison by July 8. It’s unclear where Hill will serve her time.

Hill was present during the hearing, and delivered a statement to the judge in which she compared her situation to slavery.

“I was put into a system I didn’t know the nature of. … I’m a child of former slaves. I got into an economic paradigm and had that imposed on me,” Hill said.  She continued, “I sold 50 million units … now I’m up here paying a tax debt. If that’s not likened to slavery, I don’t know what is.”

In her defense I will point out that both she and black actor Wesley Snipe have both been handed jail sentences for tax evasion, while Lindsay Lohan still owes about $250,000 in federal back taxes, but blaming it on slavery is pretty ballsy. Even if she is the child of former slaves she still managed to become a world-famous musician and make millions of dollars for herself. I’m the child of a chain-smoking midget and a failed cult leader, you don’t see me using that as an excuse for why I’m lying on the floor wearing a soiled sheet surrounded by Dorito crumbs at noon. We make our own destinies.

Image:By Daigo Oliva from São Paulo, Brasil (lauryn hill) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D