During a recent Instagram Live session, M.I.A. told Jaguar Wright about several things, including an alleged settlement with the NFL that Jay-Z and Roc Nation encouraged her to sign, which she compared to slavery.
"I was fighting giants. At that time, Jay-Z, Roc Nation was supposed to negotiate that. They wanted me to sign this thing, which was slavery," she claimed. "It was modern day slavery where the NFL takes 100% of my earnings.
The NFL filed a $16.6 million lawsuit against the singer after she flipped off the camera during her appearance at the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show, headlined by Madonna. According to ESPN, the league filed a claim with the American Arbitration Association against the "Paper Planes" singer one month after the performance, seeking $1.5 million.
All Super Bowl performers are required to sign a contract in which they agree to abide by the league’s standards or face a sizable fine.
The NFL filed another claim two years later after no resolution was reached. This time, the league added $15.1 million to its request.
Howard King confirmed to ESPN's Darren Rovell in 2014 that his client reached a confidential settlement with the league.
In a 2018 interview with Huck Magazine, M.I.A. brought up this same alleged agreement with the NFL.
"If you’re talking about racism and sexism, [the lawsuit] showed the cracks in everyone I knew," she said. "I was at Roc Nation at the time and Jay-Z was managing me. The lawsuit was so ridiculous, it proposed that they would keep one hundred percent of my earnings for the rest of my life if I ever earned more than $2 million dollars. Jay-Z was, like, 'You should sign that shit' and I was, like, 'No.'"
M.I.A. claimed on Instagram Live last year that Jay-Z told her to get plastic surgery the first time they had a meeting with each other.
