Naturally, American Idol‘s enlisting of Pop divas Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj was always going to see sparks fly and fly high. Yet, new reports suggest the ladies are delivering more drama than hoped for – so much so that threats were supposedly made.
Report, via TMZ, below…
Via TMZ:
Nicki Minaj derailed the “American Idol” auditions in Charlotte, North Carolina today, after swearing at her (Mariah) and threatening, “I’m gonna knock you out” … sources tell TMZ.
Multiple sources are telling us there was a blow up between the two … Nicki left, then came back and the fireworks continued, culminating with the threat. We’re told producers ended the auditions for the day so the two judges could cool down.
Big wigs on the show seem uncharacteristically upset by the blow up — it appears this was no joke and it seems producers are worried about Mariah and Nicki co-existing for the long haul.
UPDATE: Video has emerged!
UPDATE 2: Full video added!
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Now, of course, there is every chance this could be a carefully staged publicity stunt to heighten interest ahead of the show’s season premiere in January. And who can blame Idol; with a sea of new talent searches populating US screens, what better way to re-affirm its place at the top than with A-lister scandal?
That said, in the event reports are legit, it may be a hard lesson learnt for Nicki that not every contract shoved in front of her should be signed. No matter how adamant she is to penetrate the mainstream market.
Clearly still “hood at heart”, Nicki is at a disadvantage in that her purported rival is recognised as The Voice of a Generation, hence is the surest of fits for the show – while she continues to attract critique for being the polar opposite. What’s more, with Mariah keen to (smartly) use the show to re-launch her career, she’ll no doubt be politicking for top billing at whatever cost – including Nicki’s spot on the panel.
Whatever the case, this is one “diva duel’ we’ll be following uber closely.