Ashanti has finally broken her silence about the claims her former label boss Irv Gotti made about their alleged romantic relationship.
Back in August, Irv appeared on the “Drink Champs” podcast while promoting his BET Murder Inc doc, The Murder Inc Story, and while there, he detailed their rumored romance. Now, after remaining relatively silent, the “Unfoolish” singer is telling her side of the story.
In a sitdown with Angie Martinez on her IRL podcast, Ashanti set the record straight, explaining, around the 14:40 min mark, “I think that Irv definitely has his side and his version,” she said. “You know, like, you may think that it’s something and the other person knows that it’s not, and you manifest this thing into something big and it’s really not that. And then when that person finally realizes that it’s not that, it turns them into a completely different person.
“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, and there are so many things that I know. I don’t have the desire to expose certain things. I’m happy, I’m in a different space … I don’t play in the mud.”
Around the 34:00 min mark, Ashanti admits that although she and Irv dealt with each other, they were never in a relationship. “Let’s clear this up,” she said. “We’re not gonna say relationship. We dealt with each other, but was Irv my boyfriend? Was I his girlfriend? Never. Irv had several girlfriends, so I’m a little confused by the label and the description.”
Earlier on in the interview, around the 7:00 min mark, the R&B songstress confirmed she was asked to participate in the documentary, however, decided against it. “I think the world can see why,” she said. “They definitely reached out. It’s a lot to consume. For the record, I love Murder Inc., you know, all the guys. I’m cool with everyone, it’s all love. It’s very unfortunate how Irv decided to handle his documentary.”
She admitted that she did watch some of the docuseries.
“It’s a little sad to see a grown man conduct himself in that manner,” she continued. “I feel like the Murder Inc. legacy is so much bigger, and we accomplished so much and made amazing history. I feel like the way that he handled it tarnished and cheapened the brand.”
Later on in the interview, she also detailed things Irv allegedly used his power to get people within the music industry to not work with her after finding out she was dating Nelly. She also addressed his claims of her being unloyal and says despite their issues, she gives the label CEO credit for what he’s done for her music career.
