Kid Cudi Leaves Lady Gaga Tour

After less than a month on the road, Kid Cudi has announced his departure from Lady Gaga’s Monster’s Ball tour yesterday (December 16).

In a formal statement to MTV News, the XXL Freshman alum cites scheduling conflicts with acting commitments and an inability to focus on recording his upcoming Cudder album while touring as the reasons for his hasty departure. However, it’s being widely speculated that Cudi was actually asked to leave the tour because of an incident at a Vancouver show in which he punched a fan in the face.

This past weekend, a YouTube video surfaced of the Man on the Moon responding violently to a wallet being thrown on stage. Cudi allegedly tossed it back to the fan whom he thought was the owner, who in turn immediately tossed it back on stage. The video then shows Cudi, dropping the mic and jumping offstage and leaning over a barricade to punch him in the face. On the following day the supposed victim, Michael Sharpe, told  gossip site tmz.com  that he wouldn’t press charges. He explained that the entire thing had been a miscommunication and that someone other than himself had thrown the wallet on stage initially and that he threw it the second time because it didn’t belong to him.

Cudi, who joined the tour after Kanye West bowed out, will be replaced by Jason Derulo. —Brooklyne Gipson