Kid Cudi fired singer M.I.A. from his The Rebel Ragers Tour after the fans were unhappy with her opening act, as she made remarks regarding illegal immigration and expressed her political views on stage.
Cudi made the announcement on his Instagram story page on Monday. He said his management had already told M.I.A.’s people before the tour started that there shouldn’t be anything offensive at the show.
“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. This, to me, is very disappointing, and I won’t have someone on my tour making offensive remarks that upsets my fanbase,” Cudi said.
He added “Rager” after the post, as it’s a name he uses for himself among his fans.
The breaking point happened on M.I.A.’s show on May 2 at Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas, where she was booed by the crowd for her inappropriate remarks during the concert.
The audience shared the video on social media and reported that M.I.A. discussed the backlash she faced for being called out for supporting the Republicans, despite being a British citizen and thus unable to vote in American elections. She was supporting Donald Trump in 2024, along with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“I’ve been canceled for many reasons. I never thought I would be canceled for being a brown Republican voter,” M.I.A. reportedly said at the concert.
The fans started to boo louder when she said she wouldn’t perform “Illegal” as some of them in the audience might be immigrants without proper documents.
@shalsea_mac @KidCudi you were awesome but THIS?? #fyp #kidcudi #fy #TheRebelRagersTour #MIA
Videos from fans who attended the show show that M.I.A. couldn’t even finish talking because of the boos. In an attempt to fix the situation, she said, “I’m illegal; Half of my team aren’t here because they couldn’t get their visa.” However, some fans later claimed that there was cheering from the fake crowd.
M.I.A. was known for her hit song “Paper Planes,” whose lyrics included, “If you catch me at the border, I got visas in my name.” The decision to have M.I.A. open for Kid Cudi was met with criticism because of their opposing political views. For instance, Kid Cudi said he totally disagreed with his mentor, Kanye West, who supports Donald Trump.
