M.I.A. Slams NFL For Sexually Exploiting Underage Girls

M.I.A. was recently ordered to cough up $1.5 million for breaching her performance contract during the half-time performance at the 2012 Superbowl with Madonna. The reason? Because she briefly flipped off the camera which they say wasn’t appropriate for the family audience viewing the game. Now, the rapper has gone on a rant over the whole situation, and even calls out the NFL for sexually exploiting underage cheerleaders which she thinks is a more pressing matter:

“So the precise moment in question, and you can actually freeze-frame this as many media outlets have. The frame you’re looking at has basically my middle finger in the foreground, and if you find the larger picture where it zooms out is a row – background scenery – of 10, 15 cheerleaders, young black females, that we – well, Madonna – got from a local high school in Indianapolis, and they were all under 16.”

She describes how the cheerleaders are seen and says she believes it is far less appropriate than what she did on camera:

“If you look at them, they’re wearing cheerleader outfits, hips thrusted (sic) in the air, legs wide open, and in this very sexual, sexually provocative position. So, now they’ve scapegoated me into figuring out the goalposts on what is offensive in America. Like, is my finger offensive, or is the underage black girl with her legs wide open more offensive to the family audience?”

M.I.A. adds that the situation is a huge waste of time and money:

“And that’s basically what it comes down to. It’s a massive waste of time, a massive waste of money, it’s a massive display of, you know, just powerful corporation d**k-shaking. They want me on my knees and (to) say sorry so they can slap me on my wrist. Basically, (they) say it’s okay for me to promote being sexually exploited as a female than to display empowerment, female empowerment through being punk rock. So that is what it boils down to, and I’m being sued for it.”