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M.I.A. Suing Kid Cudi For Millions After Being Kicked Off Tour

Tyler Jenke

“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.

M.I.A. & Kid Cudi
M.I.A. & Kid Cudi(Credit: Supplied (2))
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M.I.A. is taking Kid Cudi to court, seeking USD $2,805,000 for alleged breach of contract after she was booted from the rapper’s current US tour.

In January, Cudi announced he would be hitting the road for The Rebel Ragers Tour, which would see him joined by the likes of M.I.A., Big Boi, and more from late April through to late June.

On May 4th, however, Cudi took to social media to reveal that he had thrown M.I.A. off the tour after her onstage comments were criticised by his fanbase.

“After the last couple shows, I’ve been flooded with messages from fans that were upset by her rants,” he wrote in a since-expired Instagram Story. “This, to me, is very disappointing and I won’t have someone on my tour making offensive remarks that upsets my fanbase.”

At the fourth stop of the tour, on May 4th, M.I.A. performed in Dallas, Texas where she described herself as a Republican, and explained she couldn’t play her 2010 song ILLYGIRL (which is pronounced as ‘illegal’), adding “though some of you could be in the audience” in reference to undocumented immigrants.

After receiving audible backlash from the crowd, M.I.A. attempted to defuse the situation. “All right, I’m illegal,” she explained. “Half of my team are not here because they didn’t get the visa, OK? I want you to know that. All right? So don’t listen to what the bots say on the internet.”

She later took to social media, explaining that her comments were taken out of context. "I wrote Borders and ILLYGAL and paper planes before you thought immigrant rights were cool,” part of her all-caps post read.

“I've had thses [sic] battles by myself without the help of millions of fans backing me,” she continued. “I don't need this virtue signal era to all of a sudden erase an entire life I've led. Jesus was an immigrant and a rebel.”

Now, M.I.A. is reportedly suing Cudi for alleged breach of contract, while also claiming her reputation as an outspoken, political artist was well-established prior to the tour taking place.

In the lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court of California Western Division on Friday, May 29th, M.I.A. states that she was granted full creative control of her performance and that her USD $2.8 million guarantee was agreed upon “regardless of what she said on stage”.

Additionally, M.I.A. alleges that Cudi himself had “directed Live Nation to fire” her and later “portrayed himself as an aggrieved headliner forced to protect his fans” despite claiming that she “‘understood’ that she could not say anything ‘offensive’ on the tour”.

“Here is the truth,” a portion of 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.”

“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 wrote in a statement obtained by Variety.

“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.”

M.I.A. also claims that following her removal from the tour, numerous offers and opportunities were rescinded, and that she and her son were also the subject of death threats.

Prior to her brief jaunt as part of Kid Cudi’s North American tour, M.I.A.’s most recent performances were in Australia as part of the 2025 edition of Harvest Rock.

Those were her first shows in the country since 2019, and took place just over a year before she generated controversy for statements regarding the link between 5G and COVID-19.