Singer M.I.A. (born Mathangi Arulpragasam) has recently filed lawsuit in California federal court against fellow artist Kid Cudi (Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi), claiming that he kicked her off his tour in early May to garner publicity. The lawsuit claims the decision left her without more than “$2.8 million in guaranteed pay” over the course of the would-be 33 show run, Consequence reports. M.I.A. claims in her complaint that Kid Cudi was aware of her political beliefs and arguably controversial reputation before he invited her on the Live-Nation promoted “Rebel Rangers Tour.” The complaint alleges M.I.A. was initially given complete creative control over her set and performance, and alleges that Kid Cudi pulled her from the tour to “generate publicity for the Tour, which has struggled with ticket sales.” The complaint continues, “[M.I.A] 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 had M.I.A. leave the tour in early May after her set in Dallas allegedly drew boos from the crowd just a few days into the “Rebel Ragers” tour. On stage, the singer made remarks about her song “ILLYGIRL” that some interpreted to be about immigrants: “Can’t do “ILLYGIRL,” though some of you could be in the audience.” After boos from the crowd, 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.” According to the complaint, she also told the audience that she had “been cancelled for many things. I never thought I’d be cancelled for being a Republican voting American,” though some reports claim she self-identified as a “brown Republican voter.”
@rooks8n Replying to @Dante sorry this is ALL i gottt #fyp #kidcudi #mia #paperplanes #rebelragerstour ♬ original sound – tae
After being kicked off the tour, M.I.A. walked back some of her words on social media, claiming she “CAN’T VOTE IN THE US,” and asks people not to “GAS LIGHT [HER] WORDS” as she “WROTE BORDERS AND ILLYGAL AND PAPER PLANES BEFORE YOU THOUGHT IMMIGRANT RIGHTS WERE COOL.”
I WROTE ILLYGAL ON THE MAYA LP A SONG FROM 2010.
I STARTED THIS INTRO TO THE SONG WITH THE STATEMENT SAYING I’M ILLYGAL, AND I SAID MY TEAM HASN’T GOTTEN VISAS YET. THEN PLAYED A SONG THAT HAD LYRICS SAYING “FU&% THE LAW”, WHICH I STILL BELIEVE, IF THE LAW IS UNJUST F@%& IT.— M.I.A. ⊕ II II II (@MIAuniverse) May 4, 2026
Following the Dallas show, Kid Cudi put out a statement that claimed he had an understanding with M.I.A. there wouldn’t be anything offensive at his shows. “After the last couple shows, I’ve been flooded with messages from fans that were upset by her rants,” Kid Cudi said in an Instagram story. “This, to me, is very disappointing and I won’t have someone on my tour making offensive remarks that upsets my fanbase.” He subsequently removed her from the tour.
M.I.A.’s lawsuit, however, claims that Kid Cudi’s statement was “riddled with falsehoods” and that he induced Live Nation to break its contract with M.I.A. and her company Neet Touring. “Kid Cudi’s motivations are purely commercial,” the complaint said. “He has already been forced to cancel a Tour date due to low ticket sales. He has ridiculed and attempted to “cancel” M.I.A. to market the Tour and sell tickets.”
According to the complaint, Kid Cudi had asked Live Nation to put M.I.A. on the tour, and she was guaranteed over $2.8 million to do the full run of the tour. Because she was dropped, the complaint claims, M.I.A. had a private-event offer worth almost $300,000 rescinded, along with merchandise and licensing deals. Allegedly, she and her son had also received death threats after she was taken off the tour. M.I.A. is asking the court to force Kid Cudi to pay her the $2.8 million plus punitive damages and legal fees.
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