Since it was announced that Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey were teaming up as judges on American Idol, countless rumors have circulated that the pair were feuding behind the scenes. Auditions for the singing competitions began in late August, but until now seemingly have gone off without a hitch.
But TMZ recently obtained footage from auditions held in Charlotte, North Carolina Tuesday, where Minaj and Carey went head to head.
The clip begins with the “Super Bass” rapper screaming at Carey, “I told them I’m not f**kin’ putting up with her f**kin’ highness over there.”
Carey can be heard saying, “Oh why, why do I have a three year old sitting around me?” She continues, “I can’t see my kids, because you decided to act like a little crazy b*tch and go all around the stage.”
According to TMZ, the whole argument began after the pair had a disagreement over a contestant’s performance.
This all went down while Minaj and Carey were seated alongside fellow judges Randy Jackson and Keith Urban.
After the incident, producers ended the auditions for the day so that the two judges could cool down, according to TMZ’s sources.
Nick Canon stopped by Access Hollywood Live this morning and weighed in on feud between his wife and Nicki.
“When you think about what the show is actually about and represents… I feel like it’s taking away from the quality of what ‘Idol’ is all about,” Nick said. “My wife is the strongest and classiest woman that I’ve ever met, if you watch the video, she just maintains her composure… I don’t think she’s moved by the theatrics and pageantry of it all. She signed up to do a job to help young people. I hope that’s not what this show becomes, about the catfights.”
When asked if Nicki was possibly jealous of Mariah’s long list of career achievements, Nick said with a laugh, “you read the script!”
Ryan Seacrest confirmed this morning during his live radio show that there was indeed a behind the scenes feud between Nicki and Mariah, and said that “Idol needs some passionate debate.”
Just weeks ago, during a press conference in New York City, Mariah said there was no feud between her and her fellow new Idol judge. At the time, the pair had only been working together for two days, which prompted Carey to say “a feud takes a little longer to happen.”
Minaj echoed her sentiments during the press conference, saying the new Idol judges were “getting along wonderfully, darling.”
The 12th season of American Idol will premiere in January of 2013. Will you be tuning in?
Follow Chris Witherspoon on Twitter at @WitherspoonC