M.I.A files multi-million dollar lawsuit against Kid Cudi after she was kicked off his latest tour
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The “Paper Planes” rapper alleges that Cudi silenced her artistic freedom by removing her from his “Rebel Ragers Tour” last month.
M.I.A. is taking Kid Cudi to court.
The British rapper, best known in the United States for her 2007 single “Paper Planes” and 2012’s “Bad Girls,” is suing the rapper/actor for $2.8 million after she was removed from his “Rebel Ragers Tour” in May for making “offensive remarks” onstage.
“Kid Cudi’s attempts to silence freedom of artistic expression and speech on his ‘Rebel Rager’s Tour’ cannot go unchallenged,” M.I.A.’s team said in a statement. “Kid Cudi claimed shock over her comments he now labels as ‘offensive’ and his abrupt and unjustified termination of her performance agreement is a desperate attempt to sell tickets for his tour that was drastically underselling. As a result, his false allegations have fueled a misguided, hive-minded pile-on based on a deliberate misrepresentation of her words.”
The figure of $2.8 million is believed to be the “guarantee” between Live Nation, the “Rebel Ragers Tour” promoter, and M.I.A.’s Neet Touring LLP. Lawyers for the Grammy-nominated British rapper allege Live Nation agreed to pay that figure to M.I.A. “regardless of what she said on stage.” The suit also alleges that she was fired from the tour at the request of Cudi, who directed Live Nation to do so and “portrayed himself as an aggrieved headliner forced to protest his fans” who insisted that M.I.A. “understood that she could not say anything ‘offensive’ on the tour.”
“Here is the truth. M.I.A. was terminated to generate publicity for the Tour, which has struggled with ticket sales,” the suit reads, according to Variety. “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.”
Things came to a head for both parties following the May 2 date of the “Rebel Ragers Tour” in Dallas, Texas. In her monologue, M.I.A. said, “I’ve been canceled for many reasons. I never thought I would be canceled for being a brown Republican voter” and “I can’t do ‘Illygall,’ though some of you could be in the audience.”
Those in attendance booed the comments.
Two days later, Cudi announced M.I.A.’s removal on Instagram, writing, “TOUR UPDATE: M.I.A is no longer on this tour. I told my management to send a notice to her team before we started tour that I didn’t want anything offensive at my shows, cuz I already knew what time it was, and I was assured things were understood. 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.”
The “Rebel Ragers” tour kicked off on April 28 and is set to wrap on June 27th.
M.I.A. responded hours later in all caps, alleging she was being gaslighted by a fan who attended the show. On May 5, she shared a full transcript of her statement from on stage.
“I’VE BEEN CANCELLED FOR MANY THINGS. I NEVER THOUGHT I’D BE CANCELLED FOR BEING A REPUBLICAN VOTING AMERICAN, SO IVE COME TO MEET YOU ALL IN PERSON,” she wrote. “THIS IS AN ALLOW ME TO RE-INTRODUCE MYSELF TOUR. WE CAN DO ONE MORE SONG. *PLAYS BORN FREE* WERE NOT GONNA DO BORN FREE *PLAYS BRING THE NOIZE* WE’RE NOT GONNA DO BRING THE NOIZE *PLAYS ILLYGAL* WE CAN’T DO ILLYGAL, THOUGH SOME OF YOU COULD BE IN THE AUDIENCE. THIS IS FOR MEXICO, THIS IS CALLED TEQKILLA… ALRIGHT, I’M ILLEGAL. HALF OF MY TEAM ARE NOT HERE BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T GET THE VISA, OK, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT, ALRIGHT, SO DON’T LISTEN TO WHAT THE BOTS SAY ON THE INTERNET, OK. ONCE YOU’RE THIS, YOU’RE ALWAYS THAT. *PLAYS ILLYGAL* ILLYGAL LYRICS: DADDY CAN BE ROUGH, THAT’S WHY I CAN BE TOUGH THICK SKIN EVEN WHEN IT COMES TO LITTLE BIT OF LOVE BEEN AROUND DOING STUFF, POLICE PUT ME IN CUFFS AIN’T A VICTIM BUT I AM A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH. I’M ILLYGAL, F-CK YOUR LAW.”