On M.I.A flicking a middle finger during the Super Bowl performance…
Well, you know, the thing is we were in NFL territory.
We were in the sacred ground of football and I think that it’s a very important and well-viewed event.
It was accepted and understood by everyone performing that we would be — what’s the word I’m looking for — politically correct.
I think the NFL were more worried about me than anything else, thinking that I was going to do something crazy or provocative. And I really had no intention of doing something shocking.
I was working too hard in putting the show together to think about how I was going to do something to piss people off.
They fought hard for me to get me more rehearsal time, and to give me what I wanted creatively for the show.
I felt like I owed them to give them back what they wanted.
So on that level, I was upset because I knew that I got some people into trouble that really went forward for me.
And I don’t wanna do that — I don’t want anybody to get in trouble at my expense because they worked so hard to give me what I wanted, so there’s that side of it.
On the other hand, I didn’t know M.I.A did it, and everybody was outraged about it so I viewed the footage and I kind of almost missed it.
And I was like, ‘Oh, okay’. It didn’t seem like that big a deal at the end of the day, so there’s two sides to the story.
You know, that’s her thing, it’s pretty punk rock and actually, in the bigger picture of things, much crazier things have happened.
On retiring from the music industry…
I guess I love doing what I do. I have a voice, I have opinions, I have things I wanna say.
I love music, I love telling stories. So I guess as long as I feel that way I’ll keep doing what I’m doing.
