M.I.A. is speaking out after being removed from Kid Cudi’s Rebel Ragers Tour, offering her version of events following her controversial performance that sparked backlash.
The situation unfolded during a tour stop in Dallas, where M.I.A., who had been serving as the opening act, delivered a speech onstage that quickly drew attention online. During the moment, she expressed support for the Republican Party and made remarks suggesting that some audience members could be undocumented immigrants. Clips of the performance circulated widely, prompting strong reactions from fans.
In the days that followed, Kid Cudi addressed the situation directly, announcing that M.I.A. would no longer be part of the tour. In a statement shared with fans, he said he had set expectations before the tour began. “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,” he said, adding that he had been assured those boundaries were understood.
He continued by explaining his decision to remove her from the lineup. “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 won’t have someone on my tour making offensive remarks that upsets my fanbase. Thank you for understanding.”
On Tuesday evening, M.I.A. responded with a lengthy statement on social media, pushing back on how her comments were interpreted. She said that her use of the term “illegal” referred to members of her own team who had not yet secured work visas. “I started this intro to the song with the statement saying I’m ‘illygal,’ and I said my team hasn’t gotten visas yet,” she wrote, referencing earlier work in her catalog.
She also addressed the broader reaction to her comments, stating that she felt misrepresented. “Do not gaslight my words,” she said, while adding that her past work has long touched on immigration themes. “I wrote ‘Borders’ and ‘Illygal’ and ‘Paper Planes’ before you thought immigrant rights were cool.”
M.I.A. used the statement to reflect on her position within the current cultural climate, saying she does not align with what she described as a “virtue signal era.” She maintained that her views remain consistent with her earlier work and expressed no regret for her stance.
With both artists publicly addressing the fallout, M.I.A.’s removal from the Rebel Ragers Tour marks a clear end to her involvement in the run, closing a chapter that began with her role as an opening act and ended amid a widely discussed exchange between the two performers.
