India Arie Rips Into Essence Fest After Lauryn Hill's Near-Empty Stadium Experience

India Arie is standing ten toes down behind the legendary Lauryn Hill!

The singer is voicing her support for her colleague after an underwhelming outing at the just-concluded Essence Festival, blaming it on the show and its organizers.

Lauryn Hill held it down on stage at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Saturday to a scant crowd due to a shift in the general performance schedule.

The 49-year-old took to Instagram to share her thoughts on how much things need to be reworked after her pal performed in a near-empty area for the festival.

She commented while responding to a video of the rapper's performance, where she opened her session at 2:31 am and ended her performance at 3:37 am.

"Essence is loosing its essence. I told yall this, but everybody twisted my words and told me i was making non-feminist statements," the singer began, adding that the criticism that followed her initial commentary on the matter was unnecessary.

Arie shared her hope that the organizers and everyone responsible for the festival can take the necessary time off and "come BACK to reflect on the culture again." She stressed the importance of enforcing such changes, adding:

"And OUR LAURYN deserves SO much better. She deserves everything, in fact. Essence was ALWAYS really, really a beautiful time."

Arie was not the only one with a bone to pick with the festival organizers for how things turned out. More commenters called out the show, like this user who wrote:

"I was there and did not feel like Lauren Hill was the issue. All performances started an hour late and then got more and more off track as the night went on."

Another fan confirmed that Essence did everything wrong in the situation by starting the show "two hours late." An alleged worker at the dome explained that the festival organizers already had "so much going on" with the show. According to her:

"They had way too many artists booked for starters. The breaks in between each act were longer than needed."

Despite this mishap, a fan of the rapper praised her for putting on such an iconic show, writing, "She put on an excellent performance and those of us that stayed until 3:40 am got an up close, intimate and personal performance."

Hill's fans filled the comment section in their thousands, clarifying to those who cared to listen that the singer was, in fact, early for her performance and did not leave till she was done.

Apparently, Hill had a reputation for skipping shows, according to this commenter, who wrote, "Respectfully - maybe she'll see how it feels to come out late, having people waiting hours." Another user added, "If she didn't already come late to every one of her performances, I would blame essence...."

PEOPLE caught an inside glimpse into what was going on at the concert, noting that she performed on Saturday, for what was slated to be a Friday show. When the rapper finally hopped on stage, the 83,000-capacity venue only had hundreds of people waiting around.

The festival experienced significant delays right from the start, with some artists finishing their performances about an hour later than initially scheduled for the subsequent acts.

Hill did not let the situation deter her from giving the audience a show they deserved, as she reportedly engaged the crowd by bantering with them and even taking song requests from the audience.

The 50-year-old also shared the stage with her two lovely sons, Zion Marley and Joshua Marley. The Essence 2025 festival featured a lineup of refreshing performances from artists including Summer Walker, Jazmine Sullivan, Boyz II Men, and Jill Scott.

The neo-soul singer's alleged tardiness was highlighted by her Fugees bandmate, Pras Michel, last year when he attempted to explain why she could not continue her planned North American tour, as reported by The Blast.

The tour, planned to commemorate the anniversary of Hill's highly influential and celebrated album, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," encountered several difficulties, including legal and financial issues.

"I saved her reputation for 20 years by not telling my side of the story, but oops … cat's out of the bag," Michel shared, seemingly agreeing with the narrative that the rapper is not the best when it comes to having a sense of urgency.

Michel's angle contradicted Hill's initial explanation for canceling, which she hinged on the toxic media that "spun a narrative that has hurt ticket sales for the North American tour."

The rapper insisted that her dedication to her art was unfortunately overshadowed by the media's negative portrayal during the tour.

Essence Fest may have been short of expectations, but the rapper exceeded every projection in May when she pulled up looking like a ray of sunshine on the event's red carpet, as shared by Vogue.

Hill stole the show in an extravagant Stella McCartney yellow number featuring exotic sculptural design via a double-breasted suit. She paired the look with a traditional shirt and wine tie combination adorned with a bold necklace.

The singer switched up her look with a classic Cerulean Blue Hermès Kelly bag. The rarity of the big-sized Birkin made the look one of the most luxurious for the night.

Hill's bold eye makeup and wine lip topped off her ensemble for the night, which paid homage to the "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" theme.

Will Essence Fest make good use of India Arie's tips in their next edition? Most importantly, will Lauryn Hill make a return to their stage?