Kid Cudi Drops M.I.A. from Tour over Offensive Remarks at Dallas Show

Grammy award-winning rapper Kid Cudi has removed singer-songwriter M.I.A. from his Rebel Ragers tour due to offensive remarks that upset his fanbase.

Online videos captured the British star facing boos from the crowd after she said she could not perform her song Illygal, about an undocumented migrant, because it might apply to some audience members.

Kid Cudi, in an Instagram post, said he received a flood of messages following M.I.A.'s comments during her support slot at his Dallas, Texas, show on May 2.

He called the situation "very disappointing" and said he had told M.I.A.'s management before the tour that he did not want anything offensive.

Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, added that he believed M.I.A.'s team understood his request to avoid potentially divisive statements.

Footage from the performance shows the audience booing after the singer remarked: "I've been cancelled for many reasons. I never thought I would be canceled for being a brown Republican voter."

She also said she could not perform Illygal, "though some of you could be in the audience."

In a later X post, M.I.A. clarified that she could not vote in the US despite calling herself a Republican voter.

London-born M.I.A., whose parents are from Sri Lanka, started releasing music in 2003. She gained fame with her unconventional sound and political themes drawn from her childhood.

Her 2008 song Paper Planes reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and earned a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year.

She also received an Oscar nomination for "O... Saya" from the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack.

More recently, M.I.A. has drawn criticism for her views. She once posted that she would "take death" over a Covid-19 vaccine, later clarifying opposition to profit-driven pharmaceutical companies rather than vaccines themselves.

In 2024, she launched a clothing line with designs claiming protection from Wi-Fi and 5G signals, claims rejected by scientists as linked to disease or poor health.

After Kid Cudi fired her from the tour, M.I.A. posted on X that she wrote Illygal "before you thought immigrant rights were cool." She added, "I've has these battles myself without the help of millions of fans backing me."