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The Indiana Daily Student

arts

COLUMN: Azealia Banks and Russell Crowe feud is confusing

ENTER MOVIE-FRANCHISES 1 LA

Acclaimed actor Russell Crowe recently invited roughly 10 guests to his Beverly Hills Hotel suite for a relaxing evening of dinner, music and friends. What it turned into was a tense brawl full of alleged death threats, racist slurs and aggravated assault, according to a People magazine article.

One of the guests was former Wu-Tang Clan leader RZA. As his plus-one, he brought rapper Azealia Banks, a choice that is probably haunting him more now than Wu-Tang’s decision last year to not release their latest record until the year 2103.

Witnesses at the party said Banks, who was believed to be intoxicated, began laughing at Crowe’s choice in music and began mocking him and at least one other guest, calling them “boring white men.”

The whole party fled a little south of heavenly when Banks told Crowe his upcoming film, a remake of “The Mummy,” would be terrible.

Of course, the rest of the world probably agrees with her, but the Oscar-winning actor didn’t seem to like this criticism. He told her that since she was so young and hasn’t done anything with her career, then she had no room to talk.

Crowe’s retort didn’t rest well with Banks either. She is basically the female equivalent to Ernest Hemingway in terms of super-small egos. So she fired back that his career was basically washed-up, and he was no longer relevant in Hollywood.

It’s bizarre to try to imagine all this. People idolize these stars to be so comfortable in their own skin that they wouldn’t have to resort to such petty bickering among themselves.

Despite this, it has become more obvious in recent years that eccentric artists like Crowe and Banks have become only more insecure with their fame, even though we would expect the opposite reaction.

We have seen this with past artists like Brian Wilson, Judy Garland, John Lennon and Marilyn Monroe. It’s the curse that accompanies the blessing of total acclaim.

One female guest allegedly attempted to step in by asking Banks to calm down. Banks allegedly lashed out, threatening the woman, Crowe and other guests. She also apparently threw around the N-word and grabbed a glass, with the intent of using it as a weapon.

“You would love it if I broke my glass, stabbed you guys in the throat and blood would squirt everywhere like some real Tarantino shit,” Banks said to them, according to the article.

It was at this point, according to Banks, that Crowe threw her out of the suite. This, however, is where the stories begin to really diverge.

Witnesses of the event claim Banks was about to toss the bottle in her hand before Crowe grabbed her in a bear hug and threw her out of the suite, then reportedly called hotel security to escort the rapper out.

However, Banks herself denies any of the threats she was accused of making. Instead, she said Crowe attacked her after saying he was no longer relevant. Banks described the alleged attack as Crowe calling her the N-word, spitting on her, grabbing her by the neck and throwing her out of the suite.

Banks proceeded to file battery charges against Crowe, which she has since dropped. She still is, however, looking for a public apology from Crowe.

RZA made a statement of the incident on Facebook, denying that Crowe used the racial slur or grabbed Banks neck but did confirm Crowe spat on her.

“Seeing is believing, and I saw her behave as an obnoxious erratic individual, and in the circles I frequent, this was unprecedented,” he said in the statement.

It’s honestly hard to decide who is in the right for this story. Banks has had a long history of violence and aggression, but so does Crowe, with at least six other incidents of alleged attacks against others.

We may never know the truth, but more likely than not, it’s somewhere in the middle.

Regardless of what may have happened, it is clear here that even in the “safe space” of social gatherings among the idols that populate the Hollywood Babylon, no one is safe from the eccentric and radical outbursts that come from our own insecurity.

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