Category: Music

The New York Times – T Magazine:

By Rivea Ruff· Updated October 26, 2022

After months of controversy, Ashanti has finally issued a definitive response to claims and accusations made by her former label boss, Irv Gotti.

Appearing on Angie Martinez’s IRL Podcast, the songstress discussed in full her reaction to and confusion about the Murder Inc. mogul’s recent press tour surrounding his recently aired documentary, for which he made his alleged relationship with Ashanti the main focus.

When asked why she wasn’t a part of the Murder, Inc. documentary, Ashanti was frank.

“I think the world can see why,” she laughed. “For the record, I love Murder, Inc. I’m cool with everyone, it’s all love.”

“It’s very unfortunate how Irv decided to handle his documentary. It’s a little sad to see a grown man conduct himself in that manner. I feel like the Murder, Inc. legacy is so much bigger,” she said. “The way he handled it tarnished and cheapened the brand…that’s so selfish and so degrading.”

AUSTIN, TEXAS – MARCH 15: Ashanti speaks onstage at ‘Ashanti Turns Women’s History Month Into Women’s Future Month’ during the 2022 SXSW Conference And Festival at the Austin Convention Center on March 15, 2022 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/FilmMagic)

“I accepted a long time ago that’s the person that he is,” she said of her lack of surprise about his behavior. “I feel like Irv is mentally not in a good place.”

The star believes that the former Hip-Hop heavy hitter was intentionally trying to ruin her by revealing intimate details and personal anecdotes about their extramarital affair that occurred twenty years ago.

“When you come to a realization that you no longer can manipulate or control someone you let go. You just vomit. It looks nasty, it smells nasty. And that’s a reflection of the person that you are,” Ashanti said of his recent comments. “He’s clearly in pain, and I see a lot of feminine qualities.”

Detailing years of manipulation and verbal abuse, the songstress indicated that Gotti had overblown and extrapolated much of the nature of their dealings together in his mind and became upset when he came to the realization that things were not quite what he believed they were between them. She also revealed she has no recollection of some of the explicit details Irv shared on his now infamous Drink Champs interview.

“Irv has flat-out lied about a lot of things. And the crazy thing is, when we were in a good space, a positive space – pillow talk is a dangerous thing. There are so many things that I know. [But] I don’t have the desire to expose certain things. I operate at a different vibration than him. I don’t play in the mud.”

Irv Gotti and Ashanti during ART FOR LIFE Benefit – July 24, 2004 at East Hampton Estate in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

The songstress says she indeed had a genuine love for the Murder, Inc. mogul due to the impact he had on her career and the good times she had writing, recording, and traveling the world. But, she denies there being a grand love affair between the two as Gotti describes.

“We dealt with each other, but was Irv my boyfriend, and was I his girlfriend? Never.”

She admits that at the time she and Irv’s relationship moved beyond the professional into the personal, she was led to believe that he was legally separated and was inclined not to question it since he lived separate from his wife and children and had many many girlfriends at the time.

She also reveals that she felt “a lot of pressure” to continue to deal with her boss once she had second thoughts about their relationship, thinking that perhaps it may impact her career negatively.

“If I say [no]…does that mean we’re not going to record?”

Throughout the interview, Ashanti detailed years of repeated harassment, gaslighting, manipulation, and verbal abuse she received at the hands of Irv Gotti. She says this culminated in threats of violence and even death threats as she began to solidify her independence and get into a relationship with rapper Nelly.

“I believe he wishes death on me to this day,” Ashanti revealed. “I’m my heart I feel like Irv is just hurt, and he doesn’t know where to place his hurt, and he doesn’t know how to channel it as a man. And it’s very sad.”

Watch the full interview HERE.

TOPICS:  Angie Martinez Ashanti irv gotti

The post Ashanti Opens Up To Angie Martinez About Irv Gotti’s Accusations: ‘We Were Not In A Relationship’ appeared first on Essence.