Less than a month after Kid Cudi booted M.I.A. as an opener from his North American Rebel Ragers tour for making “offensive remarks” onstage, she is suing the Insano rapper for allegedly breaching the contract, according to court documents viewed by Pitchfork. She filed the complaint in the United States District Court of California Western Division on May 29. Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for M.I.A. and Kid Cudi for comment.
In the civil lawsuit, M.I.A., born Mathangi Arulpragasam, accuses Cudi, whose full name is Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, of knowing her beliefs and reputation as a politically outspoken artist before hiring her to perform as a nightly opener. She claims that kicking her off the tour was “intentional interference with contractual relations” that “caused Live Nation to breach the [contract],” including a failure to pay her the $2,805,000 guarantee despite an alleged provision to grant M.I.A. and her company full creative control of her performance. The lawsuit also states that she lost merchandise sales and VIP package sales from the remainder of the tour.
“Here is the truth,” the lawsuit reads. “M.I.A. was terminated to generate publicity for the Tour, which has struggled with ticket sales. 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.”
After she was removed from Cudi’s tour, M.I.A. claims that offers to perform at a private party for nearly $300,000 and a merch pop-up in Los Angeles were rescinded, and discussions with a sync company over a potential licensing deal were terminated. The lawsuit also states that the M.I.7 singer and her son received death threats.
In addition to demanding Live Nation pay her full guarantee as outlined in the contract, M.I.A.’s “prayer for relief” includes $75,000 in compensatory damages, punitive and special damages, and coverage of her costs and attorney fees. She also demands “a trial by jury on all issues so triable.”
When announcing on May 4 that M.I.A. was no longer part of his tour, Kid Cudi wrote on Instagram, “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.” In her civil lawsuit, M.I.A. alleges that Cudi’s statement was “riddled with falsehoods.”
M.I.A.’s onstage remarks went viral following her May 2 set in Dallas, during which she called herself a Republican and stated “Can’t do ‘Illygal,’ though some of you could be in the audience.” When the crowd booed her, she added “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. Once you’re this, you’re always…we should be above politics.”
The Rebel Ragers tour is still ongoing, with the next stop taking place on June 2 in Camden, New Jersey. Big Boi and A-Trak, who were originally slated to open that show, are still scheduled to perform before Cudi takes the stage.
