M.I.A. is fighting back one month after being removed from Kid Cudi’s Rebel Ragers Tour as an opener.
According to a new report by Variety published on May 31, the British singer is now suing the rapper for $2.8 million, claiming her dismissal had less to do with her controversial onstage comments and more to do with generating publicity for a struggling tour.
The legal dispute stems from remarks M.I.A. made during a May 2 concert in Dallas. During her set, she told the crowd she can’t perform her song Illygal, “though some of you could be in the audience.”
Born Mathangi Arulpragasam, M.I.A. added that she herself — along with half of her team — are also “illegal” and told those in the same boat, “Don’t listen to what the bots say on the internet.”
Two days later, Kid Cudi fired her, writing in an Instagram statement, “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 won’t have someone on my tour making offensive remarks that upsets my fanbase.”
However, M.I.A’s lawyers argue in the lawsuit obtained by Variety that the singer was entitled to the previously-agreed-upon $2.8M payment “regardless of what she said on stage.”
“Here is the truth. M.I.A. was terminated to generate publicity for the Tour, which has struggled with ticket sales,” the lawsuit states. “She was contractually allowed to say whatever she wanted on stage. M.I.A. now holds Kid Cudi accountable for his bad faith destruction of her contractual rights, business opportunities, and reputation.”
