Remember the 2012 Super Bowl halftime show with Madonna and special guests Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.?
While not as controversial as Janet Jackson‘s 2004 “Nipplegate” performance, Super Bowl XLVI’s halftime show did, briefly, feature rapper M.I.A.’s middle finger. The NFL has pursued legal action against her to get $1.5 million for it, accusing her of damaging its reputation with the gesture and breaching her contract.
M.I.A. responded on Monday with a defiant YouTube video.
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“The NFL thing is completely ridiculous,” she said. “It’s been making me laugh for a while, but now it’s so boring I don’t even laugh anymore.”
After flipping another bird as a demonstration, M.I.A. pointed out that during the performance, there were about 10-15 cheerleaders from a local high school behind her, all under 16, with “hips thrusted [sic] in the air, legs wide open and in this very sexual, sexually provocative position.”
As those cheerleaders are not being sued for $1.5 million, M.I.A. said she was being scapegoated while America tries to figure out what is and is not offensive.
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“Is my finger offensive? Or is an underage black girl with her legs wide open more offensive to the family audience?” she asked. “It’s a massive waste of time, a massive waste of money.”
While M.I.A. may not be happy with the NFL right now, she hasn’t completely shut the organization out of her life — in the video, she was wearing an Oakland Raiders sweatshirt.
Watch the video: