Alanis Morissette accuses former tour manager of extortion in new lawsuit

The singer claims she is the victim of a blackmail campaign orchestrated by her disgruntled former tour manager.(CN) — Famed Canadian-American singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette sued her former tour manager in federal court on Tuesday, accusing her of threatening to implicate the singer in drug possession and trafficking unless she agreed to employ her for 15 years.“Morissette will not be coerced into delivering her blackmailer an extraordinary payday,” Morissette wrote in a six-page complaint.According to Morissette, she hired Keren Urinov to serve as her temporary tour manager in 2025. Urinov had previously served as the head of operations for Live Nation Israel, according to her LinkedIn profile.While Morissette and the team were traveling from the United Kingdom to Spain for a concert, a British airport official flagged a bag for inspection. Morissette claims Urinov later told her the British Border Force arrested her and served her a seizure notice that the bag contained marijuana and xylazine.Urinov admitted to the authorities the bag and its contents belonged to her and showed them her Israeli medical marijuana license.At the end of Morissette’s tour, she claims Urinov and her attorney sent a series of “increasingly extortionate” letters.“​​Urinov threatened to file a patently frivolous lawsuit against Morissette in the United Kingdom for unspecified claims if Morissette refused to tell British law enforcement that the alleged drugs were hers,” Morissette wrote.That is, Morissette claimed, unless she agreed to sign Urinov to a fixed-term, 15-year employment contract as her tour director. Urinov reportedly demanded the contract include an income equivalent to that of a tour director, with annual increases and bonuses, to put “an end to the matter.”The former tour manager also demanded Morissette hire her an immigration attorney to help her get a work visa so she could work in the U.S., Morissette wrote.“Morissette is not interested in employing Urinov for 15 years — not only because she is a blackmailer, but also because she was a terrible manager of the 2025 tour,” Morissette wrote.For example, the “You Oughta Know” singer said Urinov made a hotel booking mistake that cost her $70,000 to correct. Urinov also told Morissette’s team she had once been arrested for drug smuggling in a Latin American country and had illegally fled the country after being released on bail, according to Morissette.“This was an astounding revelation, given that Urinov had told Morissette’s team during her interview for the tour manager position that nothing in her past would cause any complications with obtaining visas or traveling, and she never mentioned her arrest or crimes in Latin America,” Morissette wrote.The seven-time Grammy Award winner said she refused Uriov’s “brazen” demands and was served a letter from the former manager’s counsel implying they would report her to the British authorities for drug trafficking unless she capitulated to Urinov’s demands.“Morrissette brings this lawsuit reluctantly,” the singer wrote. “​But Morissette will not agree to work with an incompetent blackmailer for the next fifteen years or pay her a ransom under the gun. She has no choice but to sue.”Specifically, Morissette is accusing Urinov of civil extortion, fraud and negligent misrepresentation. She is asking for punitive damages.Attempts to reach Urinov for comment were unsuccessful.Categories / EntertainmentSubscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads