M.I.A. Responds To NFL's 'Powerful Corporation Dick-Shaking' Lawsuit

Last week it was revealed that M.I.A. was facing legal action from the National Football League in the United States after her controversial middle-finger salute during the halftime show at the 2012 Super Bowl.

The league is suing her for $1.5 million due to her breaching an agreement to maintain the “reputation for wholesomeness” they pride themselves on.

We heard from her lawyer last week, but today M.I.A. herself has made a public response to the suit, posting the following video on YouTube.

A transcript is below:

“The NFL thing is completely ridiculous. It's been making me laugh for a while, but now it's so boring I don't even laugh anymore.

“So the precise moment in question, and you can actually freeze-frame this as many media outlets have. The frame you're looking at basically has my middle finger in the foreground, and if you find the larger picture where it zooms out there is a row of 10-15 cheerleaders, young black females, that we – well Madonna – got from a local high school in Indianapolis, and they were all under 16. If you look at them, they're wearing cheerleader outfits, hips thrusted in the air, legs wide open and in this very sexual, sexually provocative position.

“So, now, they're scapegoating me into figuring out the goalposts on what is offensive in America. Like, is my finger offensive, or is the underage black girl with her legs wide open more offensive to the family audience? That's basically what it comes down to.

“It's a massive waste of time, a massive waste of money, it's a massive display of, you know, just powerful corporation dick-shaking. They want me on my knees and say sorry so they can slap me on my wrist. Basically, so they can say it's okay for me to promote being sexually exploited as a female than to display female empowerment through being punk rock. So, that is what it boils down to, and I'm being sued for it.”

She also tweeted a video of Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams making the same gesture, asking why it was okay for him to do so but not her.