M.I.A. has sued Kid Cudi for more than $2.8 million after the musician, whose full name is Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, removed her from his Rebel Ragers Tour following “offensive remarks” she made while serving as opener at a recent gig.
In a complaint filed in the United States Court District of California Western Division on May 29 by M.I.A., born Mathangi Arulpragasam, and obtained by Rolling Stone, the singer claims that Kid Cudi knew her political beliefs and reputation before he asked her to open the Live Nation-produced Rebel Ragers Tour.
“M.I.A. was terminated to generate publicity for the Tour, which has struggled with ticket sales,” the complaint alleges. “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.”
Earlier this month, Kid Cudi announced that he removed M.I.A. from the tour run after she allegedly told a crowd at Dallas’ Dos Equis Pavilion, “I’ve been canceled for many reasons. I never thought I would be canceled for being a brown Republican voter,” and reportedly added that she wouldn’t perform her song “Illegal” because “there’s probably one in the crowd.” According to the complaint, M.I.A. allegedly said she was canceled for “being a Republican voting American.”
According to Cudi when he announced he was removing her from the tour, M.I.A.’s comments drew criticism from those who attended the tour, leading to the rapper announcing M.I.A. would no longer be supporting the remainder of the trek. Following her dismissal, M.I.A. clarified in a social media post that she can’t vote in the U.S. and mentioned that a contingency of the Latin community also voted for Trump. “So are you going to hate them all?” she wrote.
Following the Dallas show, Kid Cudi explained that “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 lawsuit alleges that Cudi’s statement was “riddled with falsehoods” and that kicking her off the tour was “intentional interference with contractual relations” that induced Live Nation to breach her contract. “Kid Cudi’s conduct caused Live Nation to breach the Agreement,” the complaint states. “He directed Live Nation to terminate M.I.A. from the Tour. He caused Live Nation to fail to pay Plaintiffs the $2,805,000 Guarantee. He caused Live Nation to breach the Agreement’s provision guaranteeing the Company full creative control of M.I.A.’s performance.” It additionally claims M.I.A. “lost merchandise sales and VIP package sales from the remainder of the tour.”
A rep for Kid Cudi did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
“KiD CuDi’s attempts to silence freedom of artistic expression and speech on his ‘Rebel Rager’s Tour’ cannot go unchallenged. Censorship is something M.I.A has fought against her whole career,” a rep for M.I.A. said in a statement shared with Rolling Stone on Sunday. “For decades, M.I.A. has used her platform to speak on human rights and other complex global issues as a refugee who became a global star.
“It is well known to KiD CuDi and the world that she has never been shy about communicating her heartfelt views through her music and her dialogue with fans,” the statement continued. “KiD CuDi’s 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.”
In addition to seeking $2.8 million from the purported guarantee, it also seeks compensatory damages exceeding $75,000, attorney fees, and other further relief the court may deem.
Blair Brown*
