Did Nicki Minaj threaten to shoot Mariah Carey?

Nick Cannon says Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj's spat on American Idol is taking the spotlight away from the competitors. Photo / AP

Mariah Carey has stepped up her feud with Nicki Minaj, alleging her fellow judge threatened to "shoot" her during their recent showdown on American Idol.

TMZ published the rumour yesterday, but Idol producer Lythgoe immediately denied it.

The View host Barbara Walters, who conducted an interview with Carey, said that multiple people heard Minaj say, "If I had a gun, I would shoot the b***h" after they fought during the auditions.

Carey told Walters that she "doesn't feel comfortable emotionally" after the clash and has hired extra security as a result.

"She is very concerned. She is with her twins," Walters said. "She doesn't feel that anything would happen. I'm quoting now, 'But Nicki is unpredictable' and Mariah says she can't take a chance and she has hired extra security."

Check out video of Walters on her conversation with Carey here.

Minaj's representatives have yet to comment. Not that they need to.

"Hey yAll. Lets just say nicki said smthn about a gun. ppl will believe it cuz she's a black rapper. Lmao. I'll then hit up Barbara n milk it," the singer wrote on Twitter.

Minaj added, "Ironically no camera or mic heard the gun comment tho. Lol @ the struggle. Not even the producers believed u. Say no to violence barbz.

"Barbara walters didn't reach out from our team barbz. I guess we're too dangerous. Don't shake if u don't wannA get shook!!!!

Related articles

"I don't call tmz n Barbara Walters cuz I stand on my own two feet. Never needed an army. God is good. Insecurity is as cruel as the grave," added Minaj.

She concluded, "I guess it hurts 2 have the producers tell u to ur face that nicki is the best judge we've had since simon. Awww, poor u. Keep them lies cmn.

"Tried to keep quiet but let's go!!!!...I thought we resolved it yesterday but I see u want ur pity party to continue. So I'm bout to po dot tea."

BLOWOUT VIDEO LEAKS

Carey's husband Nick Cannon has plenty to say about their recent videotaped throwdown.

Things got heated between American Idol judges Minaj and Carey during auditions for the Fox singing competition in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Gossip website TMZ posted video of rap star Minaj, 29, hurling F-bombs at pop diva Carey, 42, after a disagreement about a contestant's audition.

Although it's unclear what triggered the outburst, a source told Mouthtoears.com that it all kicked off after Carey allegedly had a pop at Minaj before the cameras rolled.

A source said: "Nicki Minaj walked off of set because Mariah Carey kept making jabs at her.

"Nicki's manager and team convinced her to come back to the show. Mariah kept at it and called Nicki 'a b**h' and then proceeded to cuss her out. Producers had to stop filming and call it a night."

What followed was Minaj's expletive-filled rant caught on tape, with fellow panelists Keith Urban and Randy Jackson caught in the middle.

'OFF WITH YOUR HEAD'

The audio quality on the video is dodgy, but according to the website's transcript, Minaj refers to Carey as, among other things, "her f*****g highness."

"You think I'm playing. Think it's a joke! Think this is a f*****g joke!" says Minaj. "Say one more disrespectful thing to me, if you say one more disrespectful thing to me - off with your head," she screams.

"Excuse me, I am not being disrespectful," counters Carey.

"Off with your head! Off with your head!" Minaj says.

"Don't tell me I'm insecure, don't tell me I'm inadequate. You're the insecure one, sittin' up there running down her résumé every five minutes," Minaj continues.

"Every time you take a shot at me I'ma take it back, and if you gotta f*****g problem then handle it. I told them, I'm not f*****g putting up with your f*****g highness over there ... figure it the f**k out. Figure it out."

Fellow judge Urban, who was sitting between Minaj and Carey, then appears to try and calm the hip-hop star down.

"Oh why, whyyyyyyyy, do I have a three-year-old sitting around me?" Carey responds.

"I'm not sitting here for 20 minutes and have her run down her resume every five minutes, every day," Minaj snaps, according to the transcript.

"Listen ... I can't see my kids because you decided to make ... to have ... to have a little baby fit and going all around the stage," replies Carey.

"Good, well then go see them now, go see them now ... you're boring as f**k, you're boring as f**k," Minaj tells Carey.

Check out the censored video below:

Carey's husband Nick Cannon has since spoken out about the teardown.

"When you think about what the show is actually about and represents ... I feel like it's taking away from the quality of what Idol is all about," the America's Got Talent host told Access Hollywood Live.

"This is about people accomplishing their dreams, experts guiding these young people to do what they've done," he said.

"My wife is the strongest and classiest woman that I've ever met," he continued, "if you watch the video, she just maintains her composure ... I don't think she's moved by the theatrics and pageantry of it all. She signed up to do a job to help young people ... this is like a sidebar. I hope that's not what this show becomes, about the catfights."

He continued: "The show is solely about a singing competition. That's why America loves these shows, they want to see people reach a certain goal or win ... and then to make it about something it's not, [it] kind of shows that the producers and the network are losing their foot a little bit."

Cannon said when his wife called him after the incident, she was focused on checking in on the couple's one-year-old twins, Moroccan and Monroe.

"She called me and we were talking about the kids," Cannon explained. "At the end of the day she's a mum and that's my wife. We got diapers to change and kids to raise.

"I think that [avoiding on-set drama] was one of her main concerns. [She] signed up to be a mentor on a show that is about people accomplishing their dreams."

'IT WAS INTENSE'

Idol host Ryan Seacrest also weighed in on what went down between the divas.

"There was a very heated, intense argument towards the end of the day after a contestant did a little bit of a performance in the room," he admitted on his KIIS-FM radio show on Wednesday.

He continued: "It was intense, I'll be honest with you. And it was towards the end of the day, and there were just a few contestants to be seen...So it did get intense, and we did wrap after it."

Carey last month denied rumours of a feud between her and Minaj, telling reporters, "How can you feud in two days? I think a feud takes a little longer [to build]."

And while some believe that the videotaped showdown was spun for publicity, a source tells E! News that the tension between the divas is "real".

The insider notes that although the animosity may make "good TV," it's "proving to be a 'nightmare' for showrunner Nigel Lythgoe and his team."

Conversely, a "high-ranking" Idol insider told The Hollywood Reporter that the feud is "all for show".

"The Mariah-Nicki diva battle is exactly what Fox executives wanted all along," said the source.

"No one's really worried. They know the parts they're supposed to play."

Draw your own conclusions.

FAST GOSSIP

And finally...

* Nicole Kidman denies talking to Katie Holmes after Cruise split.

* Exes Rihanna, Chris Brown back together? Brown says he's split with girlfriend Karrueche Tran, because "I don't want to see her hurt over my friendship with Rihanna."

* Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise divorce details revealed.

* More than $127,000 worth of jewellery swiped from Julianne Moore's apartment.

* Extended TV spot for Steven Spielberg's Lincoln debuts.

* Police punk'd by bogus call to Ashton Kutcher's home.

* Check out Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp in the new teaser trailer for The Lone Ranger.

* Stanley Tucci and Felicity Blunt's wedding snap.

* Nicolas Cage receives damages and apology over online story.

* Lions, and tigers, and bears (in 3D)! Oh, my! Yep, The Wizard Of Oz will be converted to 3D in 2013.

Follow Myrddin Gwynedd on Twitter.

- Rumour Has It

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r8bHnqmapJRjsLB6zbNmnqakmr%2B1rcinpJ6mpGSxqrCMp6Cco5liuqq6wKNkraCimq61sc1mq6hlo528sMCMppiroZGdeqSt0Z6waGpjfpWVnJOCiJGLeWmThpCufmmBhIqKn4uAjg%3D%3D