Kid Cudi Drops M.I.A. From Tour After ‘Offensive Remarks’ as Opening Act

Kid Cudi has dropped M.I.A. from his Rebel Ragers Tour after she made “offensive remarks” while serving as opener at a recent gig.

At a May 2 tour stop at Dallas’ Dos Equis Pavilion, M.I.A. told the crowd, “I’ve been canceled for many reasons. I never thought I would be canceled for being a brown Republican voter,” Variety reports. The rapper added that she wouldn’t perform her song “Illegal” because “there’s probably one in the crowd.”

M.I.A.’s rants drew criticism from fans who came to see Kid Cudi’s tour, leading the rapper to announce Monday that M.I.A. had been dropped from her support slot for the remainder of the trek.

“TOUR UPDATE: M.I.A is no longer on this tour,” Kid Cudi wrote on social media. “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.” 

Kid Cudi continued, “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 have someone on my tour making offensive remarks that upsets my fanbase. Thank you for understanding. Rager.”

M.I.A., who recently released her new album M.I.7, has not yet commented on her dismissal. The rapper has been candid about her polarizing politics in recent years, from spreading misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine to selling a line of anti-5G clothing via The Alex Jones Show to supporting Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

M.I.A. responded to the news with a series of posts on X, explained that explained that “Illygirl” was a song she wrote for her 2010 album Maya. “Do not gas light my words,” she wrote. “That is the work of Satan. I wrote ‘Borders’ and ‘Illygirl’ and ‘Paper Planes’ before you thought immigrant rights were cool. I’ve had these battles by myself without the help of millions of fans backing me. I don’t need this virtue signal era to all of a sudden erase an entire life I’ve led.”

She added in response to a fan asking about her endorsing Donald Trump, “Don’t be an agent of division, I can’t vote in the US, and 48 per cent of Latin community voted Trump. So are you going to hate them all? We must unite to make this country, that everyone wants to live in a better place. If you are easily led by rumour then you don’t see the light for yourself. I pray for your awakening.”
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The Rebel Ragers Tour continues Wednesday in Atlanta, presumably with a new opener.

This post was updated on May 5 at 3:25 am ET with M.I.A.’s response.