British rapper M.I.A. has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Kid Cudi after he removed her from his tour following controversial remarks made during a performance.
According to PEOPLE, the 50-year-old artist filed a complaint in a Los Angeles court on May 29, claiming that Cudi, 42, “knew her politics” and understood that “she would not stay silent on stage” when he booked her as a special guest on his ongoing Rebel Ragers Tour.
“Kid Cudi’s attempts to silence freedom of artistic expression and speech on his Rebel Ragers Tour cannot go unchallenged. Censorship is something M.I.A. has fought against her whole career,” a spokesperson for M.I.A. told PEOPLE in a statement.
The statement continued: “Kid Cudi’s claimed shock over her comments, which he now labels as ‘offensive,’ and his abrupt and unjustified termination of her performance agreement is a desperate attempt to sell tickets for his tour, which was reportedly underperforming. As a result, his false allegations have fueled a misguided backlash based on a deliberate misrepresentation of her words.”
The British rapper was dropped from the tour after she allegedly upset concertgoers with comments regarding illegal immigration during a performance.
M.I.A. faced criticism after fans reportedly booed her on stage when she allegedly referred to members of the audience as “illegal immigrants” while performing on Kid Cudi’s tour.
Following the incident, Kid Cudi announced that he had removed her from the tour, stating that her remarks were unacceptable and that he had previously warned her about similar comments.
“This, to me, is very disappointing, and I won’t have someone on my tour making offensive remarks that upset my fanbase,” he said.
Several concertgoers claimed that M.I.A. made controversial comments about immigrants and allegedly suggested that people in the crowd were “illegal.”
After being booed, she reportedly attempted to clarify her remarks by saying that she and members of her team were also “illegal,” but many fans did not accept the explanation.
