After days of accusations tossed back and forth between Azealia Banks and the Russell Crowe camp, RZA finally came forward with his account of what went down during a party hosted by the actor last weekend. Initial reports told of a Banks having been tossed from the Beverly Hills Hotel by Crowe himself after a fracas broke out involving the Harlem rapper. Sources close to Crowe said that Banks became belligerent and at one point, threatened to cut somebody after insulting the guests. Banks would fire back, insisting that Crowe assaulted her, spit at her, and called her a n****r. According to RZA, Banks is lying.
"THIS IS NOT A RACE OR GENDER ISSUE. I did not hear Russell call her a N::gg::::," RZA wrote, in a statement posted to Facebook on Thursday, October 20. The legendary Wu-Tang Clan creator had refrained from sharing his side of the story for five days, over which time Banks has remained persistent in her claims against Crowe. Banks has also chastised RZA in that time, insisting that he watched the ordeal go down without sticking up for her. Last week Banks celebrated having allegedly been signed to a deal by the veteran producer. She has since struck down the possibility of a collaboration.
Meanwhile, through his statement, RZA has countered numerous claims made by Banks, including that which reported on her having reached a deal with him. Out of his successful work with Banks on his Coco film project, RZA says that he gained enough trust in her [despite the reputation which he says precedes her], to help her revive her career. He confirms having helped connect her with a friend in the industry, who put a deal on the table for her, but says her decision to go public about it was premature. He defends that in the weeks leading up to Banks' clash with Crowe, he had provided her with economic support and helped with shelter and travel, giving her the benefit of the doubt "with the rationality everyone is innocent until proven guilty."
RZA detailed the incident in much the same way sources close to Crowe have reported it. "Before the night is over Azealia is insulting half the room. She becomes loud and obnoxious. There was nothing funny about her behavior. I felt embarrassed because she was my guest," he wrote. "Azealia threatened to cut a girl in the face with a glass, then actually grabs a glass and physically attacks for no logical reason. Russell blocked the attack and expelled her from the suite. Seeing is believing, and I saw her behave as an obnoxious, erratic individual, and in the circles, I frequent this was unprecedented."
Source: m.facebook.com
