Rapper Kid Cudi has announced that he fired British rapper M.I.A. as one of the openers for his Rebel Ragers Tour following her “offensive remarks” and “rants” onstage.
His decision comes after a viral rant she made on May 2 during a Dallas date of the tour at the Dos Equis Pavilion, where she was booed by the crowd during a monologue about her political views.
“I’ve been cancelled for many reasons. I never thought I would be cancelled for being a brown Republican voter,” M.I.A. reportedly said during the concert, according to Variety.
She also told the audience she would not perform her song Illygirl before saying some “of you could be in the audience.”
“All right, I’m illegal,” M.I.A. said in another video shared online. “Half of my team are not here because they didn’t get the visa, OK? I want you to know that. All right, so don’t listen to what the bots say on the internet.”
“We should be above politics,” she added, according to the video.
After videos of M.I.A.’s set spread online, Kid Cudi (real name Scott Mescudi) announced her departure from the tour on May 4 in an Instagram post.
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“TOUR UPDATE: M.I.A is no longer on this tour. 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,” he wrote.
“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 wont [sic] have someone on my tour making offensive remarks that upsets my fanbase. Thank you for understanding,” his post concluded.
A screenshot of Kid Cudi’s Instagram Stories.
@KidCudi/Instagram
“DO NOT GASLIGHT MY WORDS. THAT IS THE WORK OF SATAN. I WROTE BORDERS AND ILLYGAL [sic] AND PAPER PLANES BEFORE YOU THOUGHT IMMIGRANT RIGHTS WERE COOL. I’VE HAD THSES [sic] BATTLES BY MYSELF WITHOUT THE HELP OF MILLIONS OF FANS BACKING ME,” she continued. “I DON’T NEED THIS VIRTUE SIGNAL ERA TO ALL OF A SUDDEN ERASE AN ENTIRE LIFE I’VE LED. JESUS WAS AN IMMIGRANT AND A REBEL.”
M.I.A. added that she has “no apology for the judgmental, the wicked and the ignorant.”
In response to a user on X who wrote, “and then you endorsed Donald Trump,” M.I.A. said that she “can’t vote in the US.”
Global News has reached out to Kid Cudi and M.I.A.’s representatives for further comment, but has not received a reponse.
The Rebel Ragers Tour kicked off on April 28, with two Canadian dates scheduled: Toronto’s RBC Amphitheatre on May 26 and Vancouver’s Rogers Arena on June 19.
M.I.A. previously faced criticism online after revealing she’s an anti-vaxxer during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Paper Planes rapper took to X in March 2020, saying she’d rather “choose death” over “the vaccine or chip.” The comment came as researchers around the world worked to develop a vaccination against COVID-19.
“If I have to choose the vaccine or chip I’m gonna choose death — YALA,” she wrote, referencing her own 2013 hit, Y.A.L.A, which stands for You Always Live Again.
“Have a healthy life,” M.I.A. wrote. “Don’t live in fear!”
—With files from Global News’ Adam Wallis
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