Alanis Morissette has sued her former tour manager in Los Angeles federal court, accusing the woman of trying to blackmail her over a bag containing marijuana and an animal tranquilizer that British Border Force officials seized at Farnborough Airport last year. The Grammy-winning singer alleges that Keren Urinov threatened to report her to British authorities for drug trafficking unless Morissette handed over a 15-year tour-director contract and other sweeping financial concessions.
The federal lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, asserts claims of civil extortion, fraud and negligent misrepresentation, and seeks damages that exceed the $75,000 federal jurisdictional threshold, according to Billboard. Morissette's legal team, led by entertainment attorney Howard King, argues in the filing that Urinov was a poorly performing hire who cost the production $70,000 through a hotel booking error during the 2025 European tour, the outlet reported. As MyNewsLA.com reports, Morissette said in the complaint that she will not be coerced into delivering her blackmailer an extraordinary payday.
A Bag Flagged at a Private Jet Hub
According to the lawsuit, the trouble began on July 12, 2025, when Morissette and her team were due to fly out of Farnborough Airport in Hampshire to Spain for a concert. A British Border Force official flagged a bag for further inspection, and it was found to contain marijuana and xylazine, a non-opioid animal tranquilizer and central nervous system depressant that is approved only for veterinary use, per the same complaint reported by MyNewsLA.com. Farnborough serves as the U.K.'s primary dedicated business aviation airport, catering to private jets for high-profile travelers and touring artists, according to Premium Transfers.
Urinov initially claimed the bag was hers, telling Border Force officers that both it and its contents belonged to her rather than Morissette, the lawsuit alleges. She reportedly showed officials an Israeli medical marijuana license to support her claim. Border Force officers detained Urinov for further questioning after she landed in the United Kingdom, but the lawsuit alleges she was released once the bag was returned to her, and Morissette, Urinov and the tour team flew back to the U.K. the same day. Urinov later flew to Barcelona to rejoin the tour.
From Admission to Alleged Threats
After the tour ended, Urinov began sending what the lawsuit describes as a series of increasingly extortionate letters to Morissette, according to the complaint. She demanded massive compensation, per the lawsuit, including an income equivalent to that of a full tour director complete with annual increases and bonuses, and a 15-year employment contract in that role. She also allegedly demanded that Morissette arrange an immigration attorney to secure her a U.S. work visa, with additional compensation sought if the visa could not be obtained.
Urinov's lawyers implied that she would report Morissette to British authorities for drug trafficking and pursue a lawsuit against her in the United Kingdom unless she capitulated to the demands, the complaint alleges. Morissette refused. Urinov followed through on part of that threat, filing a claim against Morissette in the U.K. High Court in August 2026, a move that came before Morissette's own federal filing, as reported by Patch. It remains unclear whether British authorities ever formally opened a criminal investigation into the airport incident, and the current status of Urinov's High Court claim has not been detailed.
Xylazine's Legal Weight in the U.K.
The drug at the center of the seizure carries particular legal weight in Britain. The U.K. government officially classified xylazine as a Class C controlled substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in September 2024, subjecting unauthorized possession or trafficking to severe criminal penalties, according to a GOV.UK announcement. The classification came after concerns grew over the drug's use as an adulterant in illicit narcotics circulating in the country.
Urinov had joined Morissette's team in 2025 as a temporary tour manager after nine years as head of Israeli operations at Live Nation, according to Billboard's reporting on the court filings. That professional background is central to the dispute, as Morissette's team frames Urinov's alleged demands as an abuse of a role she was hired to fill only temporarily.
A Pattern of High-Stakes Betrayals
This is not the first time Morissette has accused someone in her inner circle of major financial betrayal. In May 2017, her former business manager Jonathan Schwartz was sentenced to six years in federal prison and ordered to pay $8.6 million in restitution after pleading guilty to stealing more than $5 million from the singer between 2010 and 2014, according to Best Classic Bands. Schwartz had falsified records and claimed the stolen funds were personal expenses or illegal drug investments.
That same year, in February 2017, burglars broke into Morissette's Brentwood home while she was away and stole a safe containing $2 million in jewelry, an incident that came shortly after she uncovered Schwartz's theft. Morissette, the Canadian-born singer known for chart-topping 1990s singles including You Oughta Know, Hand in My Pocket and Ironic, won the Album of the Year Grammy in 1996 for Jagged Little Pill.
The legal fight arrives during an active stretch for Morissette's touring calendar. She headlined Spotify's 20th-anniversary showcase at Stubb's during SXSW in March, performing alongside Ella Langley and St. Vincent, and was announced in January as a headliner for the Levitate Music & Arts Festival in Marshfield, Massachusetts. She is scheduled to perform a string of dates at YouTube Theater in Inglewood in November 2026, according to MyNewsLA.com's report on the lawsuit.
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