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Kid Cudi boots MIA from tour after illegal immigrant comments spark backlash
By Rachel del Guidice
Published May 05, 2026
Rapper Kid Cudi has kicked a singer off his tour after what he called "offensive remarks" from rapper M.I.A. about illegal immigrants and being a "Brown Republican voter."
In a Monday post on Instagram stories titled "Tour update," Kid Cudi wrote, "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."
During a Saturday tour stop in Dallas at the Dos Equis Pavilion, M.I.A. said, "I’ve been canceled for many reasons. I never thought I would be canceled for being a Brown Republican voter."
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Kid Cudi attends the Met Gala celebrating "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on May 2, 2022. (Theo Wargo/WireImage)
Variety reported that she also said, "I can’t do ‘Illegal,’ though some of you could be in the audience," and that her remarks were shared on social media as well as platforms like Reddit.
One user on Reddit posted, "Did anyone catch all that wildly racist s--- M.I.A said at the dos equis show? She did that weird bit about indians and being republican, and then damn near got booed off stage after she said ‘illegal (her song) like half the people here’ Her entire set left a bad taste in my mouth."
Kid Cudi said he was removing M.I.A. from the Rebel Ragers Tour, which started in Phoenix, Arizona, and is set to hit over 30 cities across the country, because of her remarks.
"After the last couple shows, I've been flooded with messages from fans that were upset by her rants," he said. "This, to me, is very disappointing, and I won't have someone on my tour making offensive remarks that upsets my fanbase. Thank you for understanding."
Rapper Kid Cudi leaves federal court in New York City after testifying in the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking trial on May 22, 2025. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP)
M.I.A., whose real name is Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, has made political statements in the past.
In 2024, during the Portola Music Festival in San Francisco, she said, "Before there was Nicki [Minaj], there was M.I.A. Before there was Rihanna, there was M.I.A. Before there was Kamala Harris, there was M.I.A."
She added, ""We want freedom from everything, even from politics and religions."
Fox News Digital reached out to Kid Cudi and M.I.A. for comment.
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In August 2024, M.I.A. also appeared to endorse President Donald Trump on X after he was endorsed by former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"Trump is going to ride America through the most challenging 4 years coming pulling out weed, and RFK will inherit America when God is ready to replant and rebuild it righteously," she wrote.
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