Kid Cudi is firing back at M.I.A. in their escalating legal battle.
The rapper is asking a judge to throw out the $2.8 million lawsuit his former tour opener filed after he booted her from the ‘Rebel Ragers Tour.’
And Cudi is invoking the First Amendment in his defense.
Full story below…
According to TMZ, Cudi argues that his constitutional free-speech rights extend to determining the artistic and political content of his own concert and, by extension, who appears on its bill.
In a September 8 motion, his attorney Mathew Rosengart argues the lawsuit “fails on its face.”
Cudi’s team is seeking dismissal under California’s anti-SLAPP law, maintaining that the decision to remove M.I.A. amounted to protected artistic expression and a casting decision concerning a matter of public interest.
His attorneys have also pointed to a 2019 ruling involving late Rock star Eddie Money, in which a court found that decisions about the personnel of a live performance could fall under free-speech protections.
The filing marks the latest chapter in a clash that erupted in May after M.I.A.’s politically charged remarks during the tour’s Dallas stop. Cudi subsequently removed her from the bill, saying he had made clear beforehand that he did not want “offensive” commentary upsetting his audience.
Weeks later, M.I.A. hit Cudi with a lawsuit, alleging he engineered her dismissal as a publicity stunt to boost ticket sales.
She maintains that her promoter agreement granted her creative control and guaranteed her $2.805 million for 33 shows.
Cudi counters that any dispute over that guarantee is between M.I.A. and Live Nation, rather than him.
Now a judge will decide whether his First Amendment and anti-SLAPP arguments can indeed end the case early.
