Did Oprah really call M.I.A. a ‘f–king terrorist’ at a 2009 event?

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I have such mixed feelings about M.I.A. I think she’s legitimately talented, like, crazy-talented. She’s probably a musical genius. I don’t mind that she’s political, although I could take or leave her political stances for the most part (and half the time I question whether she really knows what she’s talking about). But I also think M.I.A. has issues. Issues with men, issues with life, issues with the chip on her shoulder. She seems self-defeating sometimes – like she’s just looking for a fight, looking for someone to alienate or create a beef with.

All of that came to a head in M.I.A.’s new interview with Rolling Stone, which was supposed to be about the ten-year anniversary of her album Arular. She ended up doing a lengthy diatribe about politics, her beef with her ex-boyfriend Diplo and an incident with Oprah Winfrey… which I’m not sure I really believe happened the way M.I.A. says it happened. As I said, she goes on and on, so you can read the full piece here. Here are some of the Diplo and Oprah parts.

Early success: “By the time I hit America and actually found out the press aspect of it and the success aspect of it and the fact that there’s gonna be, you know, tons of people at the shows. . . and I had an encore at Coachella. That had never happened except for like, Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, and it only happened like four times in the history of Coachella. By the time that was happening to me, I was with Diplo and he basically just like shat on every good thing that was happening to me, and I just didn’t enjoy it because if I was on a cover of a magazine he’ll be like, “What do you want to do, like be on the dentist waiting room table? Like, is that what a magazine is for? It’s corny. Like, don’t do magazines.”

Diplo was an emotionally abusive monster: “When I got signed by Interscope, he literally smashed my hotel room and broke all the furniture because he was so angry I got picked up by a major label and it was the corniest thing in the world that could possibly happen. And then Missy Elliott called me for the first time in 2005 to work with me on her record, and I’m sure we had a massive fight about that — the fact that I was talking to anyone who was, like, popular. I wish I enjoyed it because I had this person on my shoulder the whole time saying, “It’s sh-t, it’s sh-t, it’s sh-t. You shouldn’t be on the charts. You shouldn’t be in the magazines and you should not be going to interviews. You should not be doing collaborations with famous people. You should be an underground artist.” So the whole two years I was with him, I just let him dictate. I basically had this man dictate to me how everything in America that I experienced was completely, like, irrelevant and it was nothing.”

Diplo was jelly: “Oh, 100 percent. It’s only now when I look back at it in 2015, I can see that he was just jealous and he couldn’t wait to be Taylor Swift’s best friend and date Katy Perry. But at that time I believed him. I just felt like he was right, and he was something of a political, righteous person with some values. I didn’t realize it was just jealousy.”

2005 was better than 2015: “At that time when Arular happened the world was so much more cultured. We had way better f–king music. People were having way better sex. People were eating way better food. It’s like we had progression, and now it’s like all we have is electronic music. People have to take drugs to pretend they’re having a great time, and the world has become way more aggressive and backwards and gentrified. Artistically, we’re not setting off enough fireworks in the art scene. There’s no f–king fireworks in the fashion scene.”

Her Oprah story: “In 2009, Time nominated me for one of the most influential people of the 21st century or something and I met Oprah at that party. And I was like, “Hey, people are gonna f–king die in my country. Like, please pay attention.” And she was like, “You’re sh-t because you were rude to Lady Gaga and I’m not talking to you. And I’m gonna interview Tom Cruise jumping on my sofa, so f–k off.” Yeah, she didn’t talk to me. She shut me down. She took that photo of me, but she was just like, “I can’t talk to you because you’re crazy and you’re a terrorist.” And I’m like, “I’m not. I’m a Tamil and there are people dying in my country and you have to like look at it because you’re f–king Oprah and every American told me you’re going to save the world.”

[From Rolling Stone]

Eh. Do I believe that Diplo is a tiny little jealous douchebag who emotionally abused his girlfriend more than a decade ago? FOR SURE. Diplo is a well-known douchebag and yes, I totally believe he was jealous of M.I.A. blowing up before him. But the Oprah story? No. I don’t believe it went down like that. I’m not an Oprah apologist by any means, but I simply don’t believe that Oprah would A) know M.I.A. on sight at a Time Magazine event, B) know M.I.A.’s politics well enough to form a negative opinion of her and C) call M.I.A. a “terrorist” to her face or behind her back. Now, did M.I.A. go up to Oprah and start jabbering like a crazy person about some political situation? Probably. Did Oprah try to politely shut her down? Probably.

Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.

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77 Responses to “Did Oprah really call M.I.A. a ‘f–king terrorist’ at a 2009 event?”

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  1. OriginalTessa says:

    Of course not, that’s ridiculous. MIA seems delusional.

    • denisemich says:

      I don’t believe Oprah said any of that. I believe those are the feelings MIA got from Oprah or her people when she tried to get on the Oprah show.

      • Gea says:

        I do belive Mia and why not belive her? Why is so hard to belive that Oprah can diss people. After all she is just a human like a rest of us. Oprah is very celebrity invested and more important and correct celebrity are her bread and butter. Perhaps, she favors more one who she finds inspiring and MA deosnt feet that category.

      • OriginalTessa says:

        Read what she claims Oprah said again, and honestly tell me you think Oprah said anything of the sort to her. It sounds like delusional ranting.

      • denisemich says:

        @Gea. Unless Oprah is clairvoyant, I doubt she knew that Tom Cruise was going to jump on her couch. Do you not remember that they had a falling out over it and he came on her show to ask for an apology?

        It is obvious that MIA is interpreting Oprah’s actions vs. what was actually said by her.

        Whether she interpreted Oprah correctly should be the question.

      • Bridget says:

        This was 2009. The couch jumping incident was years prior.

      • TeaAndSympathy says:

        Denisemich, I read MIA’s comments just as you did. MIA (according to what’s written above) didn’t claim that OW SAID anything >>> “And she was like…….” and “…but she was just like….” One can tell a lot from another’s body language, reception and response, I think. I think you’re coreect: MIA was simply interpreting OW’s reaction to her. I don’t believe OW is as nice as she like people to believe. She wouldn’t have become what she is by being nice.

      • Wren33 says:

        I don’t think she is attempting to quote Oprah. The way it reads to me, she is basically saying “I wanted to talk to Oprah and tell her about the situation in Sri Lanka, and I got brushed off. The vibe I got was “I can’t be seen with you because you are controversial and some people think you are a terrorist and it would hurt my brand.”” She is not saying Oprah “said” that. She is saying Oprah was “like” that. Just my interpretation.

    • MrsBPitt says:

      Why is it the Looney Tunes music kept running through my head as I was reading M.I.A.’s quotes?

  2. Kiddo says:

    I think it all did probably go down, but clearly, she expresses herself in a hyperbolic absurdist manner.

    Case in point: “We had way better f–king music. People were having way better sex. People were eating way better food.”

    • CharlotteCharlotte says:

      Yep, that’s what I got too, Kiddo.

      I don’t think she’s claiming verbatim. She’s telling her side in a verbose, hyperbolic way. And she’s telling it from her memory of it, and what was happening in Oprah’s world at that time. Oprah probably doesn’t even remember. And probably wasn’t paying attention anyway. No shade to Oprah there, I’m sure she gets approached all. The. Time. By people with causes. People who are, understandably, very impassioned. And probably hard to decipher. Especially in crowded rooms.

    • Kip says:

      As if she were the only person who existed in 2005!

    • Bridget says:

      I don’t really get how people think MIA is claiming that Oprah literally said that verbatim. I mean, “I’m going to interview Tom Cruise jumping off my sofa so F off” tends to support that MIA was expressing the sentiment of the conversation rather than a direct quote.

    • Crumpet says:

      ‘hyperbolic absurdist manner.’ I just fell in love with you Kiddo. I was going to go with Kanye’istic but I like your description much better. Plus it is grammatically correct. 🙂

    • kri says:

      um.i was having way better sex…:(

    • Mispronounced Name Dropper says:

      Everyone in the entertainment industry is a hyperbolist absurdist. Take the hype away from the entertainment industry and it’s a big heap of nothing.

      And I know that saying “everyone is a hyperbolist absurdist” makes me a hyperbolist absurdist too. So don’t bother pointing that out. 🙂

  3. HH says:

    Yes to everything abou t the Oprah part. The way MIA is speaking doesn’t sound like Oprah at all. Not to say that Oprah can’t be mean ever, but those just don’t sound like her words at all. And this is one of my biggest pet peeves in life. When people tell stories like it’s verbatim, knowing full-and-f*cking well they are paraphrasing (awfully) or just have a terrible memory. I had a coworker like this and it pissed me off. She was gossipy, and by the end of the day, the story she told was completely distorted from its actual truth.

    • hunter says:

      If you look at Oprah’s face in that picture, it says, “don’t take that pic – get me outta here!”

  4. Peggy says:

    The proof is in the pudding with M.I.A. She showed her class at the Super Bowl.
    That is not Oprah’s MO, she would be working the room, Looking for guest to appear on her show.
    Most likely M.I.A went up to spouting off and Oprah said talk to the hand, and moved on.
    Oprah is not going to let this fly, she’ll call out the singer.

    • Kiddo says:

      I don’t think the words were verbatim, but I do believe that ‘a sense’ of this transpired.
      Oprah became VERY celebrity invested, there for a time. I could see a wag of the finger, about how to act toward other celebs, honestly.

    • Bridget says:

      More likely, MIA went up to Oprah and said ‘you should feature this on your show’ and Oprah said ‘the Tamil Tigers are pretty controversial and are considered a terrorist group. I can’t do a show on that’

      • Anna says:

        This!

      • I Choose Me says:

        Now this is a more likely scenario of what went down. Oprah is a consummate professional and, as a famous public figure, is careful about what she says. I don’t think she would directly insult MIA by calling her a terrorist.

  5. olly says:

    Urggh, no, didn’t she accuse Anderson Cooper of something similar of Twitter???

    And as someone with some Tamilian ancestry, though admittedly, not as close as her, please stop picking fights with more well known celebrities to bring focus to the issue.

    • Tiffany27 says:

      Yep and he was like, “what??? I don’t even know who you are!”

    • Chem says:

      ¨to bring focus to the issue.¨
      She had to do it exactly for that, to bring focus to the issue when nobody did.

  6. mememe says:

    Jabbering on like a crazy person? Is it wrong to be VERY upset when the genocide and oppression of your people is the topic?

    • Peggy says:

      No, but putting words in people mouths is.

    • OriginalTessa says:

      Lying and defaming someones character in an attempt to draw awareness to a topic you’re passionate about is not a good way to go about anything. No one is going to listen to her now… because… she sounds like a jabbering crazy person.

  7. Maya says:

    I don’t like the way MIA described the incident but I have no trouble believing it.

    Oprah has always only thought about herself and her image. She is very power hungry and only gets together with people she feels can be of use to her.

    I do admire her for her humanitarian work but I have never liked her personality. Especially when she pledged to support Hilary Clinton and then turned around and supported Obama instead.

    Plus MIA has the right to be upset about the genocide against Tamils that happened and is happening in Sri Lanka. Neither the celebs nor the politicians are doing a damn thing. Why? Because there are no oil, diamonds or anything else that’s worth to them.

  8. ava7 says:

    Well, admittedly, I’ve only heard 2 songs by MIA but I certainly think it’s a stretch to say she’s a musical genius. And as for Oprah, I think she probably did snub MIA because the way she speaks is erratic and she has never come off as educated or well spoken in any of the interviews I’ve seen with her. And Oprah is a total celeb f**k*r, so maybe her allegiance went to someone who was already super famous like Lady Gaga. I quit watching her show a few years before it ended because most of her shows were celebrity butt kissing episodes.

  9. Jen43 says:

    Puhleez. Oprah would never talk to anyone like that.

  10. Bridget says:

    People are interpreting this as though MIA is delivering Oprah’s literal, direct quote – obviously that’s not the case. But is it possible that Oprah politely said she was disappointed in MIA’s public fued and her controversial politics? Absolutely.

    • Kiddo says:

      I imagine Oprah giving her the James-Frey-treatment.

      • Bridget says:

        I’m guessing that Oprah said she couldn’t do MIA’s show suggestion because the Tamil Tigers are considered a terrorist group by many. Not exactly Oprah’s niche.

      • Lahdidahbaby says:

        Ahahaha, loved that, Kiddo! – “the James Frey treatment”! Exactly. Gawd, will he ever escape from that “Cask of Amontillado”-style basement? I kinda think NO.

  11. InvaderTak says:

    So what are her and her billionaire boyfriend/ baby daddy doing to help?

  12. polyphonic pickles says:

    Did her kid drama ever work out?
    I like her music, but she would terrify me to ever have a conversation one on one.

  13. FingerBinger says:

    That was a very careless and thoughtless comment about Oprah Winfrey. There are people that won’t understand MIA is exaggerating and will believe Oprah really called her a terrorist.

  14. QQ says:

    MIA has the Spike Lee-azealea banks Problem , Incredibly talented, vision to spare, a crazy Curator of style etc But such a shit way to come Off !! I have all her releases and Some of her mix tapes and she is Kanye level Genius (Mathangi was an Incredible work altogether to me) But Ive also heard Numerous stories about her Terrible Behavior on sets, with Press, with Men, shit, with her own Kid … Massive chip on her shoulder and a Mix of entitlement and The Azalea Banks attitude problem

    THAT SAID – I have zero issues believing The Diplo story OR That Oprah Took her little keekeeing pic and then brushed her right off

    • Kiddo says:

      I bet she would have been MUCH nicer to One Direction.*

      * stand back everyone, QQ is gonna squeal.

    • Lahdidahbaby says:

      QQ, I love your post. As far as I’m concerned, none of the rest of us needed to post a single word after that, because it was everything. (But of course we DID post, because M.I.A. is an intriguing and talented figure, so how could we not?) But for the record, the essential discourse ends with your post at the top of this thread, #14! It sums up the whole situation brilliantly.

  15. MrsBPitt says:

    Wait.. what?…is she saying that f–king Oprah, ISN’T going to save the world???? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

  16. Chem says:

    But MIA is known to tell the hard truth.

  17. Lucy says:

    I’m kinda biased about her because her music is legit GOOD, like not just okay, the woman KNOWS what she’s doing music-wise. But she is bordering on Kanye and Azealia, which kinda sucks. She can be honest and brash without getting all up on people’s faces just for the sake of a fight.

  18. Claudia says:

    Oprah is safe when it comes to politics, meaning she never veers too far from establishment positions. MIA, on the other hand, is all about truth in the face of power.

  19. Lahdidahbaby says:

    Kaiser, your whole first paragraph just summed up M.I.A. perfectly, for better & for worse. Perfectly!

    As for Oprah, I don’t take M.I.A’s remarks to mean that Oprah LITERALLY said those things – only that she gave M.I.A. a major dose of non-verbal shade and her ATTITUDE toward M.I.A. was communicating those things, at least as far as M.I.A. is concerned.

  20. TOPgirl says:

    As crazy as she sounds..I believe her. Crazy people tell the truth man! I think Oprah sits on a very high throne and has a bit of hate and racism in her bones. I can definitely see her saying this to MIA.

    • Danskins says:

      Oprah is hardly racist.

      I can’t believe some are actually taking this story as literal fact when it’s anything but.

  21. mike says:

    Considering Oprah being one of the most self-serving and discriminating, and at times flat-out racist, celebrities in the show-biz, I’d believe this story. I don’t get why people refuse to see the honest truth about her. All she cares about her image, the ratings, and how she should always get the bigger piece of the pie over anyone else in media or show-biz. She loves playing a well-crafted, manipulative and hypocritical role.

    And MIA is right about the past decade. Nowadays everything seems ‘less than’: provincial and flat-out bigoted way of thinking has overtaken the world. Wrong people earn too much money and the creative types only cater to these extremely wealthy people’s basic tastes. Hence the mundane picture we deal with.

    • Sandy123 says:

      It seems like there’s less spontaneity in the world these days, in popular culture, for sure. Some of the best albums of all time were banged out in no time, in shitty recording spaces, now these days people are using expensive studios/equipment and taking months to pop out one mediocre album. Fashion is horrendous and pretentious, and food is a belaboured and bourgeois wank fest. So many bizarre diets out there, you can’t eat a simple meal in goddam peace without someone telling you why it’s bad for you or it’s destroying the earth. I may not agree with all M.I.A.’s opinions, but props to her for not being intimidated by anyone. The Super Bowl used her, publicly shamed her (as did Madonna), and she didn’t issue some stupid fake apology. I like that about her, and I like her music. I wish her ‘Born Free’ video wasn’t so heavily censored. I caught it before it was screwed with and she hit home with it, for real. You go on, girl.

    • Bubbly says:

      How is Oprah racist? I understand many whites view black people taking pride in and celebrating their heritage, as well as calling out the racism they experieced racist, so do tell.

  22. oneshot says:

    Obviously she’s not quoting Oprah, but I can fully believe O did throw the non-verbal shade M.I.A. suggests.

    And people using M.I.A.’s ties with the Tamil Tigers to call her a terrorist is nothing new, she didn’t make up the fact that she was denied a visa to make Kala in the US for that reason.