M.I.A. found herself in controversy in recent years for her proximity to right-wing ideology, but she believes this is unrightfully silencing her. Kid Cudi recently made the decision to remove her from his "Rebel Ragers" tour after she ranted about politics during the first four shows. More specifically, the London native caught backlash for speaking about her Republican self-identity and positing she may be performing for illegal immigrants in the crowd.
Now, according to Complex, she took legal action and launched a lawsuit against Cudi in California federal court yesterday (Friday, May 29). The 50-year-old claimed her contract stipulated over $2.8 million for 33 shows with "sole and exclusive creative control." As such, she believes she had contractual and legal basis to express herself as she pleased.
But M.I.A. blasted Kid Cudi's decision, reportedly characterizing her political comments as support for a free Palestine, condemning ICE, and criticizing cancel culture against Republican-voting United States citizens. More specifically, the lawsuit alleges the firing was a publicity stunt to counter low ticket sales, and that Cudi's statement about the removal is full of lies.
Kid Cudi Speaks On M.I.A. Leaving Tour
"I told my management to send a notice to her team before we started tour. I didn’t want anything offensive at my shows, cuz I already knew what time it was. And I was assured things were understood," the "Flight" artist stated earlier this month. "After the last couple shows, I’ve been flooded with messages from fans that were upset by her rants. This, to me, is very disappointing, and I wont have someone on my tour making offensive remarks that upsets my fanbase. Thank you for understanding. Rager."
M.I.A. claimed she lost out on various business opportunities after this removal, such as a $290K private party, a Los Angeles merch pop-up, and a sync licensing deal. In addition, she claimed folks have been sending death threats to her and her son.
Also, the lawsuit reportedly lists various statements from M.I.A.'s last show on the "Rebel Ragers" trek. They include "I never thought I’d be cancelled for being a Republican voting American." There's also "Can’t do 'Illygirl,' though some of you could be in the audience," and "Alright, I am illegal. Half of my team are not here because they didn’t get the visa, okay? I want you to know that. Alright, so don’t listen to what the bots say on the internet, okay? [...] We should be above politics."
