Academy Award-nominated rapper M.I.A. has taken to social media to beg the United States government to make her holiday wishes come true. She wants to see her 14-year-old son for Christmas but can’t because her visa has not been approved.
The British-born Sri Lankan artist, who burst on the Billboard charts in 2008 with her hit song “Paper Planes,” posted her plea on the X platform, hoping to catch a diplomat or U.S. elected official’s attention.
“Dear America, please approve my visa, so I can see my American son this Christmas. It’s the right thing to do,” she tweeted.
Dear America please approve my visa, so I can see my American son this Christmas.
— M.I.A.Ⓜ️ (@MIAuniverse) December 11, 2023
It's the right thing to do.
M.I.A., whose real name is Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam MBE, is currently estranged from her son, Ikhyd. Ikhyd is the child born from her past relationship with ex-partner Benjamin Bronfman Jr., the son of the former CEO of Universal Music Group Benjamin Bronfman and African-American philanthropist and former dancer Sherri Brewer Bronfman.
In late 2010, the two split, only a year after the baby was born, and had had a tumultuous co-parenting relationship since the break-up.
The bitter custody battle between her and Bronfman made headlines in 2013 when a court issued a ban preventing her from taking her then 4-year-old son back to England, where she had relocated. The father also secured a restraining order in New York City to stop her from taking their son across the pond.
“M.I.A. has been texting and calling Ben, saying she will take their son to London, even though they both live in Brooklyn and the child goes to school there,” an insider said at the time to Page Six, adding, “Ben filed a motion for a temporary restraining order preventing her from taking their son to the U.K. against his wishes.”
The “O… Saya” recording artist has talked about the challenges she has had getting a U.S. visa and why she moved to London despite having a small child.
She said she left because she “had a baby at that point” and “needed [her] mum.”
What complicates her getting the proper documentation to return to see that child, whose dad has physical custody of him, is the extensive review process set up by the government.
“They never tell you ‘no,’ and they never tell you ‘yes.’ [They] just keep saying they’re investigating me,” she said in a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone.
M.I.A. has made some waves in America with her radical political positions and actions.
In one instance, she flipped the bird during the Super Bowl performance with singer Madonna in 2012. As a result of making the vulgar gesture, the NFL tried to fine her $1.5 million and later sued her for $16.6 million.
The NFL said the artist breached a pre-show agreement to maintain the NFL’s “reputation for wholesomeness.” Later M.I.A. would acquiesce to a settlement of the eight-figure lawsuit, under the advisement of Jay-Z.
“If you’re talking about racism and sexism, that moment in my life showed the cracks in everyone I knew,” M.I.A. said of her lawsuit with the NFL, calling the complaint “ridiculous.”
“I was at Roc Nation at the time and Jay-Z was managing me,” she continued, adding, “It proposed that they would keep 100 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 sh-t’ and I was, like, ‘No.’”
She settled with the sports organization for an undisclosed brand.
Despite her NFL and custody troubles, M.I.A. continues to be present in the United States. Many attribute her entry challenges to her support for perceived terrorist groups, particularly Tamil revolutionaries in her parents’ native nation.
I think her situation is different considering why she got deported in the first place.(google it, lot to type😅) She was in America again in 2017-ish doing shows but not sure what her process is like getting it
— milftea🎶🎧 (@sailorzooted) December 12, 2023
In 2006, she faced initial entry denial due to controversial song lyrics and her father’s affiliations against the Sri Lankan government. Similar issues recurred in 2016, and now, in 2023, she grapples with finding a solution to see her American son amidst ongoing complications with immigration and past associations.
Bronfman has not commented on her plea.
