Kid Cudi No Longer Touring With Lady Gaga

Becky Bain | December 17, 2009 4:09 pm

Everyone’s bailing on Lady Gaga. First Kanye West backs out of their Fame Kills co-headlining tour, now Kayne’s protege Kid Cudi has taken leave of the Monster Ball. Why? For punching a fan during a show.

According to Rolling Stone, Kid Cudi was performing a solo show in Vancouver five days ago when he abruptly let his temper fly on a (seemingly innocent) fan in the crowd and found himself in a tussle:

Cudi was performing his own shows during off-days and after-hours on the Monster Ball Tour. In fact, Cudi’s punching incident at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom on December 12th took place during the “Day N Nite” rapper’s s fifth show in three days in the British Columbian city, the Vancouver Sun notes, so the heavy schedule may have taken its toll on Cudi. Cudi [caught] a wallet that was thrown at him during the performance and then [threw] it back in the crowd. The audience member who caught the wallet wasn’t actually the owner, so he threw it back at Cudi, who then lashed out with punches at the concertgoer.

And of course, the whole showdown is on YouTube. Cudi is bizarrely provoked by that wallet, despite the fact it didn’t touch him—you’d almost think he mistook it for a dangerous animal or a Molotov cocktail or a sign pointing out that he intentionally rhymed the word “navel-ette” with “towelette.”

According to a press statement from his team (posted on Dat New Cudi) this fan ruckus is unrelated to his departure from the tour. Reads the statement: “Kid Cudi has decided to take an early leave of absence from Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball tour, in order to balance his schedule surrounding the recording of his next album and acting commitments.”

Right. Despite announcing in July that he would be starring in a show produced by Mark Wahlberg, nothing so far is listed on Cudi’s IMDB profile besides TV appearances as himself. On his MySpace page, Cudi’s solo shows are still scheduled as well, so it’s a bit hard to buy the notion that those recording and acting commitments are just so heavy.

Could the sponsors behind the Monster Ball (Virgin Mobile) have been disapproving of Cudi’s ungentlemanly behavior towards his fans and forced him off the tour? (You know how mobile phone sponsors get a little touchy about artist-to-fan contact.)

So who should fill in for Cudi for the remainder of the tour? Adam Lambert is the first person who comes to mind, since he’s already thisclose with Gaga already.  Plus we doubt Glambert would ever punch a fan in the face (although he might guide said face towards his crotch). You tell us.