Summary: Rapper Azealia Banks wants to sue Russell Crowe who she alleges is a “racist.”
Azealia Banks, 27, is arguably more famous for her high-profile feuds than her music, and the troubled rapper is now focusing in on Russell Crowe, 54. According to The Mercury News, Banks has launched a GoFundMe account to raise $100,000 so she can sue the successful actor.
For the past two years, Banks has claimed that Crowe is a racist and grabbed her at a party. The allegations stemmed from a 2016 party at Crowe’s hotel suite where Banks found herself in attendance.
Banks shared online her account of the night, which allegedly ended in Crowe choking her.
“To recap my night, I went to a part [sic] at Russell Crowes suite, at which he called me a n****r, choked me, threw me out and spat at me. Last night was one of the hardest nights of sleep I’ve had in a long time. The men in the room allowed it to happen,” Banks said.
But Crowe and guests of the party said it was Banks who was the instigator while Crowe was remarkably calm during her outbursts.
“According to eyewitness accounts, the trouble started when Azealia laughed out loud at Russell’s music selection, and then called him and at least one other guest, ‘boring white men.’ We’re told a female guest jumped to Russell’s defense and suggested Banks pipe down,” TMZ reported. “Instead, we’re told she made an insane speech/threat to Crowe and the woman …‘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***.’
“We’re told Azealia reached for her glass, cocked it back … and that’s when Russell had enough,” TMZ concluded. “He grabbed her in a bear hug and carried her out of the suite. He then called hotel security guards who removed Azealia from the grounds.”
Banks demanded Crowe apologize, but he refused so she filed a police report in Beverly Hills. In 2016, the district attorney dropped her case.
Banks has held firm that her side of the story was the true side. The volatile singer has a history of picking fights with celebrities, ranging from Rihanna to Sarah Palin, but Crowe also has a history of violence. The Daily Beast said that Banks was a guest of the party through rapper RZA who admitted that he saw Crowe spit on Banks but would not corroborate other parts of her story.
On Monday, Banks reopened her case against Crowe by launching the GoFundMe. She told her fans that any money won through the lawsuit will be donated to charity.
“This isn’t about a big pay day for me,” Banks said. “It’s about letting the world know that black women are victims to the same sort of disgusting violence men in Hollywood deal out to women and it’s important to send a message that black women also deserve justice and will get justice in these situations. Crowe called me a n****r, choked me, and spat on me… if I were a white singer he wouldn’t have even thought about laying a finger on me.”