M.I.A. Tangled In Legal Battle Over 2012 Super Bowl Halftime Show Middle Finger

Remember when M.I.A. — possibly in an attempt to be recognized by that small portion of middle America who didn’t pick up her Piracy Funds Terrorism mixtape — flipped the bird to 112 million viewers during the 2012 Super Bowl halftime show? And Nicki Minaj got real sad because she respects Madonna? Well, apparently, Maya has been locked in a hush-hush legal battle with the NFL over the incident for the past 18 months, and faces a possible $1.5 million payout for breach of contract and “tarnishing the NFL’s reputation.” 

And based on the reports her lawyer Howard King has given, the dispute doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon. King said that M.I.A. would soon be going public about the lawsuit “with an explanation of how ridiculous it was for the NFL and its fans to devote such furor to this incident, while ignoring the genocide occurring in her home country and several other countries, topics she frequently speaks to.”

King continued: “Of course, the NFL’s claimed reputation for wholesomeness is hilarious. In light of the weekly felonies committed by its stars, the bounties placed by coaches on opposing players, the homophobic and racist comments uttered by its players, the complete disregard for the health of players and the premature deaths that have resulted from same, and the raping of public entities ready to sacrifice public funds to attract teams.”

The NFL responded with a similarly barbed quote undermining M.I.A.’s claim, stating: “This dispute concerns a blatant, intentional and calculated attempt by M.I.A., a musical artist, to garner worldwide publicity and attention for herself by making an offensive gesture to the cameras during the Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show performance.”

Hoo-wee! Thems some fightin’ words if I’ve ever heard em’. Meanwhile, M.I.A.’s new album Matangi is set for a November 5th release.

[via THR]