M.I.A. Settles with NFL: Flipping Middle Finger at Super Bowl Reaches Resolution
Representatives for singer M.I.A. confirmed that she has reached a settlement with the National Football League over the 2012 Super Bowl halftime show when she flashed her middle finger at the camera. Her attorney Howard King told ESPN that the performer had reached a confidential settlement with the League, but he could not share any other information.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy would not comment on the issue either.
The resolution stemmed from M.I.A.'s, whose real name is Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, performance with Madonna during the halftime break in Super Bowl XLVI where she flipped off the audience while on stage. A month later in March 2012, the NFL filed a claim with the American Arbitration Association seeking $1.5 million from M.I.A., stating that the artist broke contract after failing to comply with NFL standards.
When matters with the Sri Lankan artist went unresolved, the NFL filed additional claims in March 2014 for another $15.1 million in damages.
When the singer heard about the new asking amount, M.I.A. tweeted, "@madonna ummm...can I borrow 16 million?"
There were 222 complaints to the Federal Communications Commission about NBC's broadcast of the Super Bowl that year, many of which centered around M.I.A.'s middle finger was fully shown on television.
"A 'performer' named MIA gave me and the entire viewing audience the finger during her halftime show," a viewer from Nashville wrote in a complaint to the FCC. "If you were to take action that would cause NBC to ban this performer for life, it would finally send a message that this type of crap doesn't pay in money or publicity."
An Alaskan viewer wrote in to say that their children, ages 6 and 8, were subjected to seeing M.I.A. "flip off the cameras, essentially flipping off America, and flipping off my family."
In more recent events, the NFL fined Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel $12,000 for flipping his middle finger while on the sideline of Monday's matchup.
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