M.I.A. on Her "Borders" Video: "It Has Weeded Out a Lot of Hate From Neo-Nazi Groups"

M.I.A. discusses her video about the refugee crisis with Al-Jazeera.

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Complex Original

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M.I.A. stopped by Al Jazeera to discuss the reactions to the politically-charged message behind her video for "Borders," which tackles the world's on-going refugee crisis. She has received a significant amount of negative response from people all over the world, including a very public and angry letter from French football team Paris Saint-Germain about her wearing their jersey in the video.

"The reaction's been extreme, as always [as with] most of my work," she says of the general reaction to her self-directed video. "It has weeded out a lot of hate from neo-Nazi groups, and people thinking that it's going to cause white genocide, and that's what I'm promoting." Despite the backlash, she says others have been supportive of her video and message. "Obviously, on the other side, I have had a tremendous amount of support from my fans and other people who feel that it's important for artists and musicians to speak about current affairs, and things that actually affect our society." M.I.A. also defends her position that integration is a positive thing. Watch M.I.A.'s full interview above.

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