M.I.A. has filed a lawsuit against Kid Cudi seeking more than $2.8 million after he removed her from his Rebel Rangers Tour following comments she made on stage at a Dallas concert. The complaint was filed May 29 in the United States District Court of California Western Division by M.I.A., born Mathangi Arulpragasam, and obtained by Rolling Stone.
According to the complaint, M.I.A. allegedly told a crowd at Dallas' Dos Equis Pavilion that she had been canceled for being a Republican voter. Kid Cudi, whose full name is Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, then announced she would no longer serve as the opener for the remainder of the Live Nation-produced tour. The lawsuit states that M.I.A. was contractually allowed full creative control of her performances.
The complaint makes a direct argument about why she was removed. "M.I.A. was terminated to generate publicity for the Tour, which has struggled with ticket sales," it states. "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 offered his own explanation when he announced the decision. "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 wont have someone on my tour making offensive remarks that upsets my fanbase. Thank you for understanding. Rager," he wrote.
The lawsuit calls that statement riddled with falsehoods. It claims that Kid Cudi directed Live Nation to terminate M.I.A. from the tour and that his actions caused the company to fail to pay a guaranteed sum of $2,805,000. The complaint also alleges that M.I.A. lost merchandise sales and VIP package sales from the remainder of the tour dates.
The legal filing lays out several specific claims. "Kid Cudi's conduct caused Live Nation to breach the Agreement," the complaint states. "He directed Live Nation to terminate M.I.A. from the Tour. He caused Live Nation to fail to pay Plaintiffs the $2,805,000 Guarantee. He caused Live Nation to breach the Agreement's provision guaranteeing the Company full creative control of M.I.A.'s performance."
After her dismissal, M.I.A. addressed the situation on social media, clarifying that she cannot vote in the United States. She also noted that a portion of the Latin community voted for Donald Trump and asked, "So are you going to hate them all?" The lawsuit states that Kid Cudi knew her political beliefs and public reputation before he invited her to join the tour as his opener.
A representative for Kid Cudi did not return a request for comment from Rolling Stone.
