Rodney Jerkins Reflects on Monica Punching Brandy
Brandy and Monica are moving forward in a positive direction and hope to establish a friendship following their record-breaking ‘Verzuz’ battle, but the journey to get to this point was treacherous. Fans remember their rivalry lasting more than half of their careers. At one point, things became physical between them, resulting in Monica punching Brandy.
Producer Rodney Jerkins recently gave his account on the singers’ infamous brawl. Jerkins also gives his theory on why the two did not get along in the past, despite their success with their iconic musical duets. He praises the singers for their recent reconciliation.
Dallas Austin previously confirmed witnessing the fight between Brandy and Monica
Despite the two having a megahit on their hands with “The Boy Is Mine,” their success did not transfer to a happy personal friendship. There were rumors that the two did not get along, which they both denied.
But when whispers of the two getting into a physical fight backstage at the MTV Video Music Awards began to surface, fan speculation about their rivalry only increased.
Brandy and Monica’s team released a joint statement denying rumors of a brawl. The two later confirmed that a fight did take place while they promoted their 2012 duet “It All Belongs To Me.” Neither went into detail about what happened, but Monica’s longtime producer Dallas Austin gave his account of what happened during an interview with Vlad TV.
Austin says Monica never cared for Brandy, citing Brandy’s squeaky clean image as her reasoning. She had to be convinced to participate in the duet but refused to record with Brandy in the studio and laid down her vocals separately.
The first time they performed the song together live was at the VMAs. Austin says their behind the scene drama came to a head moments before they hit the stage.
“The first time they actually saw each other to do it was at the American Music Awards or something,” he recalls. “Before they could even get to the stage, Monica decked her in the face.”
Rodney Jerkins says Brandy and Monica’s competitiveness caused issues between them
Though Jerkins was not present at the VMA’s, he heard of the altercation between Brandy and Monica through mutual friends. Jerkins also shares a close relationship with Brandy as he’s produced the majority of her musical catalog.
He confirms Austin’s recollection of Monica refusing to record “The Boy Is Mine” with Brandy. In his interview with Vlad TV, Jerkins alleges that initially, he produced Monica’s vocals but claims she did not like the outcome. Monica then had Austin re-record her parts and send them to Jerkins so that he could produce the final edit.
As for why Brandy and Monica could not get along, Jerkins says their egos and competitiveness got in the way of the two of them establishing a genuine friendship.
“[They are competitive] and if you don’t really like each other, you can probably call a truce and say, ‘Yeah, OK we did that,’ but we will still be competitive,” he says.
Regardless, he’s happy with the status of Brandy and Monica’s relationship currently, noting that he’s proud of the success from their ‘Verzuz’ battle.
