M.I.A. has sued Kid Cudi for more than $2.8 million after being removed from his Rebel Rangers Tour, claiming he violated her contractual rights and damaged her reputation.
M.I.A. opened for Kid Cudi at a Dallas show where she made remarks about being "canceled for being a brown Republican voter" and said she wouldn't perform her track "Illegal" because there might be undocumented immigrants in the crowd. Kid Cudi removed her from the tour, claiming he was "flooded with messages from fans that were upset by her rants."
M.I.A.'s legal team disputes this account. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on May 29, alleges that Cudi knew who she was before hiring her and that the removal was a calculated move to boost tour publicity after struggling ticket sales. "M.I.A. was terminated to generate publicity for the Tour, which has struggled with ticket sales," the lawsuit states.
M.I.A.'s contract gave her "full creative control" over her performance, meaning she was legally permitted to make statements on stage. Kid Cudi's removal of her, the complaint argues, constitutes "intentional interference with contractual relations" and forced Live Nation to breach her agreement.
M.I.A. later clarified on social media that she cannot vote in the U.S., adding that many in the Latin community also voted for Trump. "So are you going to hate them all?" she wrote.
The lawsuit alleges Kid Cudi's public statement was "riddled with falsehoods" and that he directed Live Nation into breaching her contract.
