M.I.A. Files $2.8M Lawsuit Against Kid Cudi After Removal from Rebel Ragers Tour

Sri Lankan-British singer M.I.A. is suing Kid Cudi over her removal from the Rebel Ragers tour, alleging Kid Cudi directed Live Nation to fire her, costing her at least $2.8 million in performance guarantees.

Backstory:

• M.I.A. – real name Mathangi Arulpragasam – was scheduled to appear at all 33 dates of Kid Cudi’s Rebel Ragers tour for a guaranteed payment of $2,805,000.

• As per the complaint, M.I.A. and her company Neet Touring LLP were granted “sole and exclusive creative control over M.I.A.’s performances.”

• It adds: “So, Live Nation agreed to pay M.I.A. over $2.8 million regardless of what she said on stage.”

The issue:

• M.I.A. made several politically-charged onstage statements during the tour’s opening four shows, such as calling for a free Palestine and condemning ICE, which the lawsuit argues were consistent with her public persona.

• At the fourth date in Dallas, Texas, she asked the audience to chant the “Illegal, fuck your law” lyric from the track “Illygirl.”

• She also said: “I’ve been cancelled for many things. I never thought I’d be cancelled for being a Republican voting American. So, I’ve come to meet you all in person. This is the ‘allow me to reintroduce myself’ tour. We can do one more song... Can’t do ‘Illygirl,’ though some of you could be in the audience.”

• The complaint alleges that after the Dallas show, Kid Cudi instructed Live Nation to remove M.I.A. from the tour’s remaining 29 dates and, in a subsequent social media post, “portrayed himself as an aggrieved headliner forced to protect his fans from an out-of-control support act.”

• The lawsuit states that Kid Cudi – real name Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi – “knew exactly who M.I.A. was when he invited her to join” the tour, and that he knew “she would not stay silent on stage. He invited her anyways.”

• It claims that “M.I.A. was terminated to generate publicity for the Tour, which has struggled with ticket sales.”

Damages:

• The complaint states that M.I.A. “now holds Kid Cudi accountable for his bad faith destruction of her contractual rights, business opportunities, and reputation.”

• It claims that in addition to losing her $2.8 million guarantee, being fired from the tour has cost her revenue from lost merchandise and VIP package sales.

• It states that, following her firing, an invitation to play a private event for $290,000 plus travel and accommodation was withdrawn, as was a merchandise pop-up in Los Angeles.

• A potential licensing deal with a sync company was also terminated, according to the complaint.

• The lawsuit states that M.I.A. and her son have been subject to death threats since leaving the tour.

• The complaint seeks compensatory damages for an amount in excess of $75,000, consequential and special damages, punitive damages, prejudgment interest, and attorney fees.