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M.I.A. is not going down without a fight. The outspoken rapper hopped on the NY Times Popcast to address her lawsuit against Kid Cudi, and give her side of the story regarding her infamous incident that got her kicked off his tour.
What Did M.I.A. Say?
Sitting in person on the Popcast, M.I.A. detailed the circumstances as to how she found out she was off the tour.
““He didn’t even speak to me about it,” M.I.A. said. “He didn’t call my management, he didn’t call me, he didn’t talk to the crew and I even made an effort to go and talk to him and he didn’t see me. Yeah, it was kind of crazy. My son is like, ‘Hey, I heard you’re not on the tour.’ That’s how I found out, from a different state and my son called me from school. I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ And then he sent me the post.”
Her tour ousting comes after a specific event in Dallas, that caused outrage from Cudi’s fanbase, leading to numerous calls to remove M.I.A. off the tour.
The “Paper Planes” rapper went viral for making an illegal immigrant joke and reportedly going on political rants during the Dallas stop of Cudi’s tour.
“I can’t do ‘Illygal’,” M.I.A. said. “There’s some of you who could be in the audience.”
Booing began soon after, prompting her to clarify her comments.
“Alright, I’m Illegal,” she said. “Half of my team aren’t here because they couldn’t get a visa. I want you to know that. So don’t listen to what the bots say on the internet.”
She then told Popcast her perspective on the event in question.
“I was like, ‘Oh, we can’t do [“Illygal”], M.I.A. said. “I was like, ‘But we can do ‘Teqkilla.’ [And] I think people thought, ‘We can’t do ‘Illegals.” And I said, ‘Some of you might be [illegal].’”
She did not say much about the lawsuit.
MIA speaks out about Kid Cudi kicking her off his tour:
— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) June 4, 2026
"He didn't call me. He didn't talk to the crew. And I even made an effort to go to talk to him."
"Then I got to illegal, which is my favorite song, by the way, I was like, I can't do that. But we can do tequila. And then I…
What’s Going On With The Kid Cudi Lawsuit?
Complex reporter Shawn Setaro gabbed a big scoop, finding out M.I.A. is suing Kid Cudi. The controversial UK rapper is claiming terms in her contract allowed her “sole and exclusive creative control.” She claims this clause allows her to say whatever she wants without penalty.
M.I.A. claims she was not booted from the tour because of offensive remarks, instead, to generate buzz to help struggling ticket sales. She alleges Cudi is trying to “cancel” her as a form of marketing the tour.
Setaro also reports M.I.A. believes the tour removal led to a loss of opportunities including private performances, merchandise pop ups, and an alleged sync licensing deal.
She is seeking $2.8M in guaranteed tour pay, plus punitive damages and legal fees.
