Fat Joe and Ja Rule Bicker Over Whether Rule Defends Ashanti Against Irv Gotti
It’s no secret that the once close relationship between music executive and Murder Inc. Record label founder Irv Gotti and singer Ashanti is seemingly beyond repair. After making musical magic together with Ashanti’s first few albums, things soured after the record label went under while Gotti was under federal investigation. He accused Ashanti of being disloyal, and he’s since come out and alleged they were romantic at one point. But one person who is sick of Gotti speaking negatively about Ashanti is rapper Fat Joe. Joe also says that Ja Rule, Ashanti’s former label mate and close friend of both her and Gotti, should put Gotti in his place.
Irv Gotti has been on a tangent against Ashanti in recent interviews
Gotti and Rule appeared on the podcast Drink Champs where they discussed the glory days of Murder Inc. Records and its eventual downfall. The interview was also to promote a documentary about the label. Ashanti is arguably the most significant act to come from the label, and Gotti says he’s responsible for her early success.
In the interview, he speaks of being in love with the singer, dished on their alleged intimate moments, and aired his disgust about her moving on with rapper Nelly and not supporting him by leaving the label. He also referred to her as a b—h several times in the interview.
Fat Joe says Ja Rule should defend Ashanti against Irv Gotti
Joe and Ashanti have been close friends since the early 2000s. She collaborated on his hit single “What’s Luv,” and the two continue to support each other personally and publicly. After seeing the Drink Champs interview, Joe took to Instagram live to air his frustrations.
“Whatever Irv has with Ashanti is 20 years old,” he said regarding Ashanti and Gotti’s alleged affair. “I know he was making points that mean a lot to him, but when you keep ranting about somebody, 20 years later, that means he’s not over the young lady.”
Moreso, he feels Rule should hold Gotti accountable for the constant disrespect of a woman he calls himself a friend of. “It’s one thing if it’s on the documentary, but to go to Drink Champs, and to keep calling her a b—h and disrespecting her,” Joe added. “I’m not the brother to stand up for Ashanti. Ja Rule is standing right there.”
Ja Rule responds to Fat Joe’s criticism
Rule caught wind of Joe’s remarks and didn’t appreciate them. In fact, he says he doesn’t want to be involved in Gotti and Ashanti’s issues. “STOP saying I didn’t defend sis and all women when I clearly told Gotti stop calling Ashanti/women the B word same way I told Joe at Verzuz. Watch the interview before you talk s***.. NOW LEAVE ME TF OUT THESE GROWN FOLKS BUSINESS” he wrote in the comment section of Hollywood Unlocked Instagram report of Joe’s live.
After some backlash and a performance alongside Ashanti recently, Rule had a slight change of heart. In his own Instagram post, he explained that he disagrees with Gotti’s antics. Captioning a series of photos of him with Ashanti on stage, the rapper wrote:
“Brotherly love…The last few days have been very turbulent for me, but it’s time to land the plane… I love my sis, I love my bro, but I DO NOT condone or agree with the behavior nor the way Gotti handled things on drink champs I hope y’all understand how uncomfortable this is for me being in the middle of something I wish to not be… going forward all I ask is to be left out of this please and thank you!!! Sincerely Switzerland Bennett,” he wrote.
Irv Gotti says Fat Joe isn’t his real friend after he defended Ashanti
While Rule changed his stance, Gotti isn’t happy with Joe. “I feel like [Fat Joe] fooled me, he’s not my friend. But in life you get fooled,” the former Murder Inc. CEO said. “Forget Joe. They don’t want me to talk about Joe. So, I won’t talk about Joe, I’ll talk about life. In life, everyone goes through friends. People who you thought were your friends. I’m not talking about Joe,” he said in an interview, per Madame Noire.
