Azealia Banks blasts Russell Crowe, alleging the Oscar-winning actor, “Called me a n—-r, choked me, threw me out and spat at me,” during an encounter in a Beverly Hills hotel suite over-the-weekend.
According to Banks, she was originally at the hotel for a business meeting with rapper and film director RZA, which eventually led to joining a dinner party with Crowe and a group of “old Hollywood dudes,” E! News reports. After poking fun at the actor’s work, Banks claims Crowe got in his feelings and said, “Hey, you haven’t done anything in your career, so you have no right to tell him about horror.”
The New York native went on to recall an instance where a drunk woman became very “aggressive” and threatened her. To which Banks replied, “This is not how this is going to go,” she explained. “I said, ‘If I throw something at you and you get hurt, then the party is going to be done. Then we’re all going to look bad and it’s going to be a terrible night.'”
At that point, Banks claims Crowe turned to her and whispered, “Even if you tried, you wouldn’t even get close enough, you n—-r.”
“Next thing you know, I’m getting choked up, I’m getting dragged out of this room and spat on. I felt betrayed, I felt humiliated, I felt low. It almost felt like a set-up,” Banks continued. Meanwhile, the controversial musician said no one came to her defense, not even RZA.
Though the 25-year-old originally took to Facebook to share her experience, she opted to delete the post and instead, go public. Fast forward one day and TMZ was reporting details surrounding the event, leading Banks to file criminal charges. “I would like him to apologize to me publicly now because [he] went to TMZ, [like an] idiot,” said Banks, although Crowe did not speak to TMZ on the record. “I didn’t want to press charges because dealing with the police, dealing with the courts is such an inconvenient thing. I don’t want this happening. They say I’m doing this for attention. Who wants this kind of attention?”
Overall, Banks said she felt obligated to come out with her story, not just for herself, but for all women in Hollywood. “I’m pretty sure this happens to women in Hollywood so often, where you get chastised into a corner,” she explained. “Even his attorney called me and said something like, ‘If you say something about this, then you’ll never work in this town again.’ I’m pressing [charges] now.” She continued, “He doesn’t get it. He thinks I’m just some little black girl from Harlem that doesn’t have any backing. They think they can just frame me.”
Meanwhile, TMZ reported a different version of events, claiming multiple eyewitnesses state that Banks laughed at Crowe’s music and called him and another dinner party guest “boring, white men.” After the (“drunk”) woman came to Crowe’s defense, eyewitnesses claim Banks became reckless, stating, “You would love it if I broke my glass, stabbed you guys in the throat, and blood would squirt everywhere like some real Tarantino s–t” and threw in a few racial slurs.
After reportedly taking her glass and cocking it back, TMZ reports that Crowe allegedly grabbed Banks in a “bear hug” and carried her out before calling security guards to remove her from the property. However, Crowe has not yet commented.
What a mess! What are your thoughts about Banks claiming Crowe assaulted her? Sound off in the comment section below.
