Rapper M.I.A. is facing legal fallout from her infamous middle-finger during the 2012 Super Bowl halftime show, in which she performed with pop icon Madonna and hip-hop star Nicki Minaj. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the NFL has quietly been pursuing legal action against the Sri Lankan star for months and is continuing to seek $1.5 million from M.I.A. due to her gesture.
During the performance of “Give Me All Your Luvin,'” she flipped the middle finger to TV cameras and mouthed the words “I don’t give a s–t.”
The NFL is now citing a breach of the her performance contract; the league’s legal team is reportedly demanding $1.5 million in damages.
It should be noted that the FCC has not pursued a fine against M.I.A., but the league has its own policies, which were put into practice following Janet Jackson’s infamous “wardrobe malfunction” during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.
“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,” says the legal complaint filed with the American Arbitration Association.
But attorneys for M.I.A. (born Mathangi Arulpragasam) say that she isn’t giving in without a fight.
“She is going to go public 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,” her lawyer, Howard E. King told the Hollywood Reporter.
According to THR, an NFL spokesman indicated that “any monetary damages for her actions would have been donated to charity.”
