M.I.A. Sues Kid Cudi for Millions, Claiming 'Full Creative Control' Breach

Given the timing of when both music artists shot to stardom years ago, it made sense that Kid Cudi was taking M.I.A. on tour with him as opener.

However, all that fell apart earlier this month when the Grammy-winning rapper, 42, announced that he fired the British singer, 50, from his tour following "offensive remarks" at a recent gig.

And now, M.I.A. (born Mathangi Arulpragasam) is suing Cudi (born Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi) for $2.8 million, claiming the firing breached her contract with Live Nation, which guaranteed her "full creative control" of her performance, Rolling Stone reports.

"M.I.A. was terminated to generate publicity for the Tour, which has struggled with ticket sales," the complaint filed on Friday, May 29 alleges, per the magazine. "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."

In the complaint filed in the U.S. Court District of California Western Division, obtained by Rolling Stone, the "Paper Planes" singer claims that the "Pursuit of Happiness" rapper knew her political beliefs and reputation before he asked her to open the Live Nation-produced Rebel Rangers Tour.

It was less than a week into the tour that Cudi fired one of his supporting acts. M.I.A. was kicked off the tour on May 4 after videos of onstage political rants went viral days earlier.

Among the statements she made onstage were, "I've been canceled for many reasons. I never thought I would be canceled for being a brown Republican voter... I can't do [my song] ‘Illegal,' though some of you could be in the audience."

At the Kid Cudi concert with MIA she started randomly started talking about how she's a Republican & how at that concert there's probably a bunch of illegals that she's having to play too. People started booing her & quite a few left & asked for a refund.She ended her career. pic.twitter.com/nc9w4QpiD9

— Suzie rizzio (@Suzierizzo1) May 4, 2026

"M.I.A is no longer on this tour," Cudi then shared on Instagram following fan backlash. "I told my management to send a notice to her team before we started tour that I didn't want anything offensive at my shows, cuz I already knew what time it was, and I was assured things were understood. After the last couple shows, I've been flooded with messages from fans that were upset by her rants."

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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 8:26 PM.