Never before has one flip of the middle finger caused such an unnecessary ruckus. The last we heard from M.I.A., she was fending off the NFL and their “family friendly” reputation. What a joke, right? Don’t even get me started on that one.
I’ll admit to not knowing who M.I.A. was before she performed with Madonna at the 2012 Super Bowl. During Madge’s rendition of “Gimme All Your Luvin’,” M.I.A. waggled her middle finger and mouthed, “I don’t give a sh-t.” If you need a refresher, the video footage is available here. M.I.A. obviously wanted some attention, and she got it. Madonna got all upset and called the move “such a teenager/irrelevant thing to do.” That’s rich coming from Madonna, but she’s correct. It was such a lame, fameho move.
Last September, the NFL demanded $1.5 million for breach of contract because M.I.A’s digit “tarnished its goodwill and reputation.” Arbitration has continued, and now the NFL has decided it really wants $16.5 million in damages. In response, M.I.A. tweeted (and deleted) to Madge for some financial help.
Madonna completely ignored M.I.A., but that’s to be expected. The NFL says it is charging M.I.A. for taking up time that could have been used for a commercial. That makes no sense, and this mess is completely ridiculous:
MIA has asked Madonna to bail her out after being ordered to pay $16.6m for flipping her middle finger on stage during the 2012 Super Bowl half–time show.
The National Football League had initially demanded $1.5m for breach of contract and tarnishing of reputation, but filed for additional “restitution” costs before the American Arbitration Association on Friday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
These charges would cover “the alleged value of public exposure (MIA) received by appearing for an approximately two minute segment during Madonna’s performance,” NFL’s statement read. “The figure is based on what advertisers would have paid for ads during this time.”
The British rapper made the controversial gesture for less than a second while performing “Give Me All Your Luvin'”. She was not paid for her Super Bowl performance, as is custom.
MIA’s Twitter message begging Madonna for financial assistance received some 1,500 retweets but has since been deleted.
What Madonna’s response will be as yet remains unknown, but she criticised MIA’s actions after the show. “It’s such a teenage, irrelevant thing to do. There was such a feeling of love and unity there. What was the point?” she told Ryan Seacrest at the time.
MIA’s spokesperson has reacted to NFL’s claim, arguing that it “lacks any basis in law, fact or logic.” “The continued pursuit of this proceeding is transparently an exercise by the NFL intended solely to bully and make an example of Respondents for daring to challenge NFL,” read the statement, which also drew on other explicit moments from past Super Bowls (ft. Michael Jackson grabbing his genitalia and Prince’s “erect oversized phallus” guitar).
A “mere” 222 complaints were reportedly received from 111.3m viewers, compared with more than 542,000 over Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” in 2004.
Legal action against MIA first began in September 2013, when she accused the US football governing body of making her a “scapegoat”.
Shortly afterwards, the singer uploaded a video of herself wearing an Oakland Raiders top, talking on the phone and describing the case as a “completely ridiculous, massive display of corporation d–k-shaking.”
“They basically say it’s okay for me to promote being sexually exploited as a female, than to display female empowerment through being punk rock,” she said.
[From Independent]
I do feel badly for M.I.A. in this situation. She did a really dumb thing for a few seconds, and the NFL has been dragging her through legal circles for years. Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake didn’t suffer any consequences at all for baring Janet’s knocker during their halftime show. Plus (as mentioned above) Prince thrusted with his wang guitar during his show. M.I.A. was silly to do what she did for publicity because this case will probably bankrupt her.
It was also dumb for M.I.A. to tweet Madonna about getting some help with the ridiculously hefty fine. Madge only cares about Madge. She’s far too busy licking her shower for Instagram and twerking with Miley to care about anyone else.
Photos courtesy of WENN
It’s kind of hard to feel bad for her, tbh. She broke the contract and should have just paid up immediately. Did she ever even apologize?
Oh well, whatever.
Agree with Illyra. STUPID move.
However, kinda surprised even 222 people complained. How many precious poppets watching the halftime show were actually distressed by this? Seems likely that little kids either didn’t notice, didn’t know what it meant, or have seen it before. They’ve probably seen images of Miley Cyrus doing far worse things.
222 didn’t complain about HER. Less than a handful did. Most complained about the commercials, and some complained about Madonna.
Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake planned that little show. They already had their damage control plan ready.
1) act surprised/ cry
2) coin new term “wardrobe malfunction”
Mmm. If she broke the contract, and then mouthed ‘i don’t give a shit’ while flipping the bird, it’s pretty intentional.
Yes therein lies the crux of the issue. She very well knew what she signed off on and for her to say “I don’t give a shit” only reinforces that she willfully broke the contract.
Sorry consequences consequences. Don’t we teach our kids that? If you don’t want to be mired in muck, don’t do it!
Yep
I Love M.I.A I sincerely do, this last cd was so good… But that was a Punk ass unprofessional move and It was on her
She’s a lot better than many rappers I’ve heard, but you’re right- it was punk ass and definitely not punk rock.
As a musician I have to say I wish people would stop ascribing rap to rock and roll. Two entirely different animals. If you wanna do rock and roll, by all means, go for it. But don’t mislabel. Dyed-in-the-wool oldschool rock fans hate rap by a vast majority.
Apparently it has been de rigeur for rappers and kids to pose like this for years so it should shock no one. That said, the amount of this fine is absurd.
The NFL didn’t apologise for the sh***y Super Bowl final this year – for which I want $16.6 million for emotional distress – and that was far more offensive than any gesture!
Isn’t she married to a billionaire or something?
She has a son with one and they’re in the middle of ongoing custody battles.
I’m surprised by all the criticisms here. When the hell did flipping the bird become some major offense worthy of any of this? Everyone from the NFL to these comments are a display of an overly sensitive and critical society. This is who MIA is, a musician who challenges corporate, social and governmental constraints. What she did was totally in line with everything she does and as a fan, it made me smile. It was silly. Not a crime. Sheesh. I’ll defend any woman over a billion dollar, non-tax paying, prone-to-abandoning-injured-employee practicing, homophobic, sexist corporation like the NFL any day.
Mcraw, I don’t think people are being overly sensitive. We just recognize that she intentionally violated the laws about profanity that have been around for a long time, so she shouldn’t be surprised that her employer was mad. IMO, a middle finger isn’t a challenge to anything, it is something 10 year old boys do to feel bad ass. Pussy Riot has more balls than MIA will ever have.
How is it not a challenge to anything when you yourself said she broke laws that have been around for a long time? She challenged censorship. The FCC didn’t fine her or the NFL, so why this witch-hunt? Did they do this to Janet or Justin when he exposed her breast? No, even tho they got 100x the complaints and FCC violation. Rule breaking where female sexuality is exploited=OKAY, while rule breaking woman isn’t sexual= KILL HER. No one knew what she did til the media mentioned it and now the NFL with this railroading. Pussy Riot is a completely different conversation, so I won’t convolute this topic with that. The sexist, homophobic, billion dollar NPO (read: they’ve NEVER paid taxes, but we pay for their projects) is swinging it’s d-k on this one and I will never support that when a woman is on the other end. Period.
Tapioca
How you feel about the superbowl falls on the players. Not on the SuperBowl. It’s very cut and dry.
And the Half time show was Amazing! That also doesn’t fully fall on the SuperBowl. More on Bruno and RHCP.
This lawsuit makes perfect sense. The Jackson bit brought on such outrage that lead to an overlap time of live tv to allow for sensoring. Not to mention the fines being more readily used to keep broadcasters hyper aware.
This is just the SuperBowl making sure the world knows they aren’t going easy on any who tries these stunts again. A message has to be sent and since MIA wrote it off as nothing big only hurt her.
So, in the interest of a message…16 Million is jest.
A finger isn’t a challenge because it doesnt push for any kind of change. It is completely generic. If she had shouted “Brain injuries ruin lives!” or had some message about the NFL that she brought to the event, then that would be a challenge. I brought up Pussy Riot because they came with an actual MESSAGE, they didn’t just act out without a cause behind it. They had a message about church and government, and they went and blasted it to the rooftops directly in the church.
Yes, the NFL didn’t do anything with Janet or Justin specifically, but they banned MTV from producing the half time show ever again. I can understand why they would want to discourage people from taking risks that expose them to liabilities. It would be incredibly foolish not to.
Also, no one is looking to “kill” MIA, they are just fining her. Lets not get carried away with hyperbole, ok? I am not a fan of the NFL, but I don’t think it helps feminism to support women just because they are women. She made a foolish choice and is trying to dodge the consequences.
Yes, an heir or son to the Brofmann (sic) fortune – SHe’s rich as creosus like all the rest – She’s not the Clash.
yes she is married to a billionaire so bitch please…
I’ve lost long time ago the fascination for this woman ,guess in her family the father was the interesting and fierce one.
I get the fine for breaking her contract. She did it. It was stupid, but I don’t believe for a second it was unplanned. I think she planned it – knew she would get some publicity out of it – and it has now blown up bigger than she could ever have imagined. I also wonder if she has been attempting to play hardball with the NFL over the original $1.5 million fine and no one is going to win by playing hardball with the NFL. No one.
I agree, she made a very stupid move. It’s like steve-o jumping off a bridge and breaking his leg, only to complain about breaking his leg. She took a risk to appear “punk”, and now she whines about the consequence? Not very punk! $16m is crazy, but she should have paid the $1m.
Also, I REALLY disagree with people that are comparing her to Prince or MJ. Dancing or playing a guitar suggestively is NOT something that is typically censored on prime time network tv. The s-word and the middle finger are. It isn’t apt to compare something “suggestive” to something that has been definitively declared profane and a violation of FCC laws.
If they’d gotten slapped with an FCC fine, I could see them turning around and suing her for the amount since she did it. But this lost commercial stuff is BS. They hired her and she performed! It’s not like she seized control of the airwaves and made them cut commercials. If they are unhappy with her performance, sue to reclaim her fee and nothing more.
Yeah this is a total farce. I mean, did they have any idea who MIA was before they hired her on? Hello, Paper Planes. Ams I thought the tweet was funny, obviously a joke.
Well, they had to have *some* way to defray the future costs of the CTE scandal on the horizon.
CTE – chronic traumatic encephalopathy
BINGO.
They want money to pay for their concussion lawsuit settlement.
They are a multi-billion NON PROFIT organization. They pay zero taxes. Zero.
This isn’t an FCC fine. The NFL lost zero money.
This is the real punk a@@ move.
DOUBLE BINGO! Yes yes and yes on all points. Said the same thing above. They don’t even PAY their half time performers and that time slot is slotted to whoever Pepsi sponsors. So this whole loss of revenue ish is completely and utterly ridiculous.
I came in here to post EXACTLY THIS. They know they’ll be hemorrhaging money for years over the concussion lawsuit. In all fairness, what she did was blatantly WRONG, BUT in her defense – I didn’t even remember this and it wasn’t any where NEARLY offensive has JJ’s titty being exposed to millions. THAT was straight up partial nudity.
The NFL should really check themselves with this one – I watch the entire NFL season every single year (fantasy owner, etc. – huge football fan) and the players and coaches who get picked up on mics throughout the game say some pretty terrible stuff and make some pretty suggestive gestures. Granted SOME of these players get fined by the NFL (which they’re also using that $$ for the lawsuit) but no where NEARLY what they’re suing MIA for – so maybe you should practice you preach. Just saying.
They don’t need $16 million for those lawsuits. As you mentioned, they already have billions. The $16 million is because MIA is an moron who never apologized and wanted attention. Well she got attention and now she has to pay. It is outrageous but I’m agreeing w/NFL on this one.
Yes, they do need some way to pay the players for DECADES to come, and they need every cent they can get, because they sure as hell don’t want to give their BILLIONS OF UNTAXED PROFIT to their workers ie the players. Just like the Waltons don’t want to give one extra cent of their barely-taxed BILLIONS to Wal-Mart workers, Same thing.
This is a simple breach of contract, and they are trying to make it something it isn’t. They suck, and I didn’t even know why the heck MIA was when she was in the Super Bowl, because I don’t listen to that genre of music.
That’s probably because between Nippelgate and M.I.A. there have been 2 different commissioners and Goodell is all about the money.
Plus, they’re making an example of her so won’t happen again.Sad and stupid but don’t break your contract.
The NFL lets its players get away with rape, murder, animal cruelty, assault, and the list goes on and on. But this? This is what they cause a big stink about. Misogynistic asses.
True. No one even noticed she flipped the bird until the media pointed it out the next day.
Meanwhile, the NFL routinely gives the finger to taxpayers ( I’d rather see the literal version instead of the more expensive figurative one):
How the NFL Fleeces Taxpayers
Taxpayers fund the stadiums, antitrust law doesn’t apply to broadcast deals, the league enjoys nonprofit status, and Commissioner Roger Goodell makes $30 million a year. It’s time to stop the public giveaways to America’s richest sports league—and to the feudal lords who own its teams
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/how-the-nfl-fleeces-taxpayers/309448/
(Bedhead, the Atlantic is a reputable source, the link is legit.)
OMG – when I heard that the NFL was a non-profit I nearly spilled the contents of my NPR mug! What an abomination and a slap in the face of non-profits everywhere.
I am not a fan of the NFL, but that does mean I think MIA was in the right here. They are completely separate issues, but I do think the laws that govern the NFL should be changed. That’s outrageous! Great article.
The suit is outrageous. “tarnished its goodwill and reputation”? Hell no, she was just giving the people what the NFL does regularly. It’s absurd, and they should be ashamed. No one would even still be talking about this, if the NFL didn’t perpetuate the conversation for additional profit. They can go F* themselves, as far as I am concerned.
It’s an excellent article I’ve read it; the NFL’s hypocrisy is amazing; and i’m no fan of MIA or today’s rap – I’m glad zeppelin or the beastie boys or run Dmc never appeared at what is now a three day corporate pig fest oh, with a football game thrown in.
Also, MIA made a video defending herself and she said if you zoom out the screenshot of her giving the middle finger, in the background you’ll see there’s underage dancers lying on the floor with their pelvises popped in the air thrusting upwards and that that’s not very “family friendly” either but no ones saying anything about that. And she also adds that most of them are 16 year old Latina or Black girls from inner city schools so that may be why no one cares…so that’s kind of interesting
And it seems like they aren’t going after her because of her middle finger but because of the more controversial stances she’s taken in the past few years and this is just a “coverup” for it”
I find MIA unnecessarily controversial sometimes and I don’t really agree with everything she says or does but I do think she makes great music that’s really catchy and I’m kind of with her on this one. Just let it go.
Dancing suggestively doesn’t have a history of being a violation of FCC standards. The regularly blur the middle finger and bleep the s-word. They do not censor suggestive dancing.
It doesn’t sound like she is trying to defend herself as much as she’s trying to deflect blame. That’s one of my problems with her. She screwed up. Take responsibility for being an idiot and messing up. It was beyond stupid. She didn’t have to give the middle finger or swear to complete her performance. She did it to be a jerk and thus she’s being treated like a jerk.
This.
Putting rapists and violent criminals on TV is ‘family friendly’ but a woman giving the finger is abhorrent. Nice priorities the NFL have there.
Hypocrisy at its best.
THIS. Screw the NFL and the FCC both. The entire reason for the FCC is so that parents can be lazy. I’m not going to defend their laws because I don’t necessarily think all laws are moral, especially these kinds. Moreover, they weren’t fined by the FCC; she broke a contract. Okay. She made a stupid gesture. Okay. It’s not a $16M mistake. If it were me, and I did something stupid that brought upon a witch hunt on this order, not only would I not apologize (just to make a statement) and I would fight back as well. I can’t believe how unwilling people are to put themselves in her shoes? Really? All these people would just be okay with coughing up $16M over something like this? I know, I know. “Well I would never do THAT…” but what if you did? Surely not every single one of these people thinks through every single thing they do and has never done something (mildly!) dumb.
So to your point, the NFL can be “non-profit” and never pay taxes, all the while making millionaires out of people who should be shunned by society. Rapists, murderers, animal abusers–hey let’s give them million-dollar jobs because they can run, throw stuff and run into people! It’s all pretty jacked up, if you ask me. I don’t even like or care about MIA. I don’t care about her message or who she is or why she did it–I get the feeling she just likes to be defiant and I think that’s ridiculous and immature, but yeah, screw these people completely, wholly, and in every way possible.
That Tweet is so clearly a joke. It’s MIA, not Aaron Carter!!
Everything about this is a joke starting with the lame ass middle finger jab. I like MIA but it was just so needlessly defiant. If you’re too underground to perform at the Super Bowl acting like Ashlee Simpson during her ‘punk’ stage isn’t going to redeem your selling out.
But 16 million is ludicrous. Okay, I’m slightly partial to the idea of someone being fined for being a knob rather than flashing a boob (can’t believe that went unscathed!) but still, over all that’s just absurd.
Yeah, I thought it was obvious she was joking in the tweet. Honestly, it feels like the ppl going hard on her, whether or not she broke contract, are old and delusional. Especially when the offense is taken by the NFL!
I agree 100%, especially this:
” If you’re too underground to perform at the Super Bowl acting like Ashlee Simpson during her ‘punk’ stage isn’t going to redeem your selling out.”
I don’t think this whole thing would have gotten this far if she had just apologised.
But she is just too “hardcore” for that.
Idiot
hahahahahahahaha the tweet is hysterical.
This is strickly a put her in her place move. If she would have just apologized I think this would have been said and done. But nothing and the NFL is not having
that.
Ah. Good point.
I believe Justin Timberlake got away pretty much unscathed BUT Janet Jackson was dragged through the mud and has never fully recovered. Her career certainly has not been the same since that superbowl scandal.
This! Janet was ripped apart after that.
And even THEN she didn’t have to pay ANYTHING to the NFL! They are truly showing how they view women w this one.
Thank you for pointing this out!
Janet has essentially been blacklisted since that halftime show, JT left her arse hanging like a punk (privilege is an amazingly twisted thing).
Janet may not have been fined but she WAS shredded to kingdom come.
/smh
How cute, the multi-BILLION dollar NON PROFIT organization who pays no taxes, who doesn’t even pay Super Bowl performers, whose coaches and players do worse every game, whose ranks are literally full of convicted felons and sociopaths, is suing a woman who didn’t even do anything much?
How cute.
It’s also cute they are doing this after 222 people complained to the Feds and network about that year’s game, and less than a handful even mentioned MIA.
Guess someone has to pay for the concussion lawsuit settlement.
How cute.
Oh, one more thing: Richie Incognito.
Lololololol What’s cute is how you obviously have no flipping clue what you’re talking about. The NFL is not “literally full” of convicts and sociopaths. (I’m literally a huge fan of how people literally use ‘literally’ literally all the time.) But way to be uber overly dramatic. Less than 1% of players in the NFL are convicted felons-that’s comparable to the rest of society (if not less). There are probably more convicted felons working for your company (percentage wise) than for the NFL. The difference is they’re not sensationalized in your workplace like they are in the NFL. That doesn’t even take into consideration the THOUSANDS of other employees in the NFL. All players also do some kind of community service-and not the kind handed out by a judge. Richie Incognito is NOT a good example of the NFL-he has long been known to be the dirtiest player in the League and is definitely the exeption rather than the rule.
And players and coaches doing worse every year? What are you even talking about? Part of what I appreciate about the NFL over some of the other leagues is the hard salary cap. Each team can only spend the same amount of money on players’ salaries each year, which creates parity-teams fluctuate and have great years then other teams take over and have great years (well, unless you’re the Lions). This means no more dynasties and teams like the Steelers winning 4 Super Bowls in a row. This doesn’t mean the teams are getting ‘worse’-it means everyone is getting a fair shot and having a good year.
And flipping the bird might seem like ‘nothing much’ but the fact is she broke a contract. All performers sign a contract and a decency clause is included. She CHOSE to sign the contract, and she CHOSE to violate the terms. It really is that simple. Whether what she did potentially damaged the NFL brand or not doesn’t matter. She was a hired employee who violated the terms of her contract and then refused to apologize or make any attempt to rectify the situation. She’s an unprofessional brat.
All that being said, I think 16million is ridiculous. They’re trying to play hardball because she’s been dodging her professional responsibility but it’s just making Gooddell look like a big bully.
The 16 million is beyond ludicrous. And how did she cut into commercial time? Was Madonna’s set an extra minute & a half longer because of that finger? Please. Worse things have happened at the super bowl but this has probably escalated because she didn’t want to apologise. And, tbh nobody noticed her on that stage. There were a million & 1 things happening with CeeLo, LMFAO, the million dancers & the set that nobody was looking at her so I doubt any child was “scarred”.
Every American CB reader take five minutes today and send and email to your Senators an your Congresscritter and DEMAND the NFL have it’s non-profit status revoked.
SNAP and other benefits are cut, our children and elderly go hungry, yet the NFL pays NO taxes.
REALLY??? And they make billions, this is news, please enlighten me.
The NFL is legally a non-profit organization. They pay ZERO taxes. None. Nada. Zip. Do YOU think that’s fair (that’s a rhetorical “you” btw)? I don’t. I found this out a few months ago and have been appalled since.
My 82-year-old gram pays taxes every year, and she is on a fixed income, yet the NFL doesn’t.
That was 2 superbowls ago. They need to get over it. I can’t believe they’re considered a nonprofit org! I hope this whole thing backfires on them and they have to start paying taxes.
Don’t sign up to play the Super Bowl if you’re going to act like an asshole. Plain and simple. Actions have consequences, MIA.
it is ridiculous but i would be happy if musicians would perform music and not do lame publicity stunts.
although im still puzzled people in america get worked up about a finger. on Walking Dead they can kill little girls every season, thats ok but dont raise a finger!
Remember — performers at the Super Bowl don’t get paid, they do it gratis.
I think this is awful. 16.5 million. What a joke. The finger was a split second and I never even noticed it. Sure, she shouldn’t have done it and deserves to be fined But fine her something more reasonable that makes a point and move on, but this is overkill and trying to destroy someone. She’s a rapper. She said she got caught up in the moment and I believe her. It was seconds.
I do find it interesting it is against a woman. Much like Janet Jackson took all the brunt for what happened compared to Justin Timberlake. And their snafu was a much bigger deal than a finger no one even noticed for a second. Yet Janet’s career was hurt and she took so much grief and Justin barely got any flack for it, let her take the brunt of it, and he was left alone.
I watch TV and see the most violent things on prime time TV. The NFL should worry about its players who are always in the news for beating their girlfriends, rape, aggravated battery, drugs, etc.
I can’t believe they have carried on for two years with this and this is what they want, $16.5 million for barely any complaints? Beyond silly and actually disgusting. I hope the NFL receives a lot of backlash.
Me too. It should be tossed out. There was no decline in viewership of the Superbowl, in spite of it being the most lackluster game in history. They suffered no damages or harm. It’s a money-grab, and a BS PR move, going after a celeb who doesn’t have the star power to quash it immediately. I’m not saying I liked what she did, but by the same token, how much more damaging is a finger to a reputation versus an organization that promotes men tackling each other with brute force, where some suffer serious brain injury? Whatever their bad reputation, they deserve it for the long lasting damage they cause to players and taxpayers.
Roger Goodell is a money-hungry bastard. Period. He also gloats about “cleaning up the sport” – PUUHHLEEASE. He’s done nothing of the sort, although I’m sure he has supporters who believe he has. His Personal Conduct Policy has done nothing to curb illegal and vile behavior among players, and his measly fines certainly haven’t helped matters either. I just can’t. He’s an awful commissioner.
Well if Justin and Janet didn’t get fined, why should M.I.A. ? Last I knew it was illegal to show a woman’s bare breast on national (not cable) T.V. right? They need to keep the rules the same for everyone. Plus, isn’t the Superbowl on a 2 second delay because of what Justin and Janet did? Why didn’t they blur out the middle finger or pull the camera away in time? They know it’s live T.V. and anything can happen. Not only that, but the superbowl is shown live all around the world. A lot of countries don’t use the middle finger when they want to tell someone to “f off”. There are hundreds of different hand gestures used around the world to flip someone off.
Janet paid the ultimate price – she lost her career and was more talented than MIA would ever be. The only person who is left unscathed was Justin Timberfake. MIA should have learnt from Ms. Jackson’s situation; instead she decided to be hard-core consequently they are making an example out of her. I wish her the best.
This poor girl has the worst luck. First her child custody situation, and now this!! Absolutely ridiculous.
This makes me want to give the CFL the finger.