M.I.A says Oprah Winfrey avoided talking to her when they met.
The British rapper grew up in England but is of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. The 39-year-old has been very outspoken about the political and social turmoil in the country during her career, but her views have often left her alienated. During a chat with Rolling Stone, M.I.A gave an example of when her views were held against her.
“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,’” she recalled. “She was like, 'You're s**t because you were rude to Lady Gaga and I'm not talking to you.”
The media mogul was willing to pose for a photograph with the singer, but according to M.I.A, she wasn’t keen on having a conversation with her.
"Yeah, she didn't talk to me. She shut me down," the musician claimed. "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.'"
The 61-year-old wasn’t the only star on the receiving end of M.I.A’s wrath. Her ex-boyfriend DJ Diplo also came under fire. Despite being romantically involved for five years, the Sunshowers star says he would constantly put her down.
“I wish I enjoyed it because I had this person on my shoulder the whole time saying, 'It's s**t, it's s**t, it's s**t,” she said. “’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.'"
