M.I.A.

In May 2026, following a Dallas concert at which M.I.A. said she had never imagined being "cancelled for being a brown Republican voter" and made a remark about audience members possibly being "illegal", Kid Cudi removed her from the Rebel Ragers tour, citing fan complaints and offensive remarks. M.I.A. subsequently filed a federal lawsuit alleging contractual interference and seeking, among other things, the benefit of a guarantee of approximately $2.805 million.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Protagonist is the complainant

M.I.A. launched Ohmni, including a "Tin Foil Hat" and poncho claiming shielding against Wi-Fi, 4G and 5G, as well as underwear marketed as protecting testosterone and improving fertility.

State of the evidence

Allegations

Attribution

Personally implicated

In February 2024, while saying that she was having visa difficulties preventing her from seeing her son in the United States, M.I.A. publicly claimed that her custody dispute dated back to 2013, that Jay-Z was managing it at the time, that Roc Nation had cut off communications and that Jay-Z's links to the Bronfman family had contributed to burying Matangi and restricting her career. She also linked her family situation to Bronfman family members associated with NXIVM.

Attribution

Directly implicated

During an Instagram livestream in late 2024, M.I.A. claimed that when she signed with Roc Nation in 2012, "the first thing" Jay-Z allegedly told her was to have cosmetic surgery. She used the alleged incident to respond to criticism of her appearance and supposed lack of confidence.

Following the substantial civil verdict against Alex Jones, M.I.A. asked whether celebrities who had promoted vaccines should also "pay" and drew a parallel between Jones and Pfizer. She subsequently stated that GQ had removed her from its Men of the Year Awards and a photoshoot.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Early in the pandemic, M.I.A. wrote that she would rather die than choose "the vaccine or chip", then suggested without an established scientific basis that 5G could slow the body's recovery.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

M.I.A. stated that she had temporarily been denied a US work visa in the mid-2000s, affecting the recording of Kala. In 2016, she said she still lacked the necessary visa to tour and promote her album in the United States.

In the Borders video, M.I.A. wears a modified PSG shirt replacing "Fly Emirates" with "Fly Pirates". PSG sent her a letter challenging the use of its image and threatening legal action.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

M.I.A. criticised what she perceived as an exclusively American focus on Black Lives Matter and asked why artists were not also speaking about Muslim and Syrian lives. Her headline appearance at Afropunk London then prompted boycott threats; she ultimately withdrew from the line-up.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

During the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show, M.I.A. raised her middle finger at the camera. The NFL initiated financial proceedings and was seeking up to approximately $16.6 million in total before a confidential settlement in 2014.

State of the evidence

Settlement

Attribution

Personally implicated

The release of Matangi was repeatedly delayed. M.I.A. claimed that her label considered the record "too positive" and publicly threatened to leak it herself if Interscope delayed any further.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

After separating from Benjamin Bronfman, M.I.A. became involved in a custody dispute in 2013 concerning their son. Bronfman asked the court to prevent her from leaving New York with the child; M.I.A. publicly denounced the situation and claimed that the Bronfman family was trying to take her son away.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

The Born Free video, directed by Romain Gavras, depicts armed forces rounding up and executing red-haired people, including children. Its graphic violence sparked major controversy; YouTube subjected it to an age restriction and substantially reduced its visibility.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Following a highly critical New York Times Magazine profile, M.I.A. published journalist Lynn Hirschberg's phone number on Twitter and then released audio excerpts from their interview to challenge how she had been portrayed.

State of the evidence

Reported by the press

Attribution

Personally implicated

M.I.A.'s references to the Sri Lankan civil war, the Tamil cause, refugees and tiger imagery prompted public allegations that she supported or trivialised the LTTE/Tamil Tigers.

Attribution

Political responsibility