M.I.A. Tweets Phone Number of NY Times Writer

The New York Times Magazine ran a much-publicized feature on M.I.A. on Tuesday (May 25), but the snarky profile has rubbed the outspoken Sri Lankan singer the wrong way.

In the piece, titled 'M.I.A.'s Agitprop Pop,' writer Lynn Hirschberg calls out the seeming contradictions in M.I.A's life right off the bat by pitting her views on Sri Lanka's military dispute with the Tamil Tiger rebels against her privileged life Stateside. Hirschberg pointedly explains that M.I.A. recently moved to Los Angeles with finance Ben Bronfman, "buying a house in very white, very wealthy Brentwood, an isolated and bucolic section of the city with a minimal history of trauma and violent uprisings."

An enraged M.I.A. took to Twitter, posting Hirschberg's number before writing, "Call me if you wanna talk to me about the NYT truth issue, I'll [be] taking calls all day bitches." Hirschberg told the New York Observer that M.I.A.'s stunt was "infuriating and not surprising ... She's a provocateur, and provocateurs want to be provocative." But the writer took the attack with a grain of salt, poking fun at the absurdity of the situation. "The messages have mostly been from people trying to hook up with M.I.A. ... If she wants to get together with John at Bard next week, I have his number," she said.

M.I.A. apparently wasn't satisfied with Hirschberg's reaction, because she took to Twitter one more time to write, "News is an opinion! Unedited version of the interview will be on Neetrecordings.com this Memorial [Day] weekend."

Hirschberg denied any knowledge of an unedited interview. "I have no idea what she's talking about," Hirschberg said.