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Rapper Azealia Banks was apparently removed from a hotel room by actor Russell Crowe, who, according to witnesses, kicked her out after she mocked his taste in music and threatened to cut his guests. Banks, however, said Crowe violently threw her out while using racial slurs.According to TMZ, Crowe had invited a handful of people to his room at a Beverly Hills hotel on Saturday for dinner and a little music. Crowe had invited RZA, who brought Banks along. An unknown guest claimed that Banks found Crowe's musical selection less than impressive and called his guests "boring white men." A woman asked Banks to chill, but instead, Banks allegedly said, "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."
When Banks picked up her glass as if she were going to break it, witnesses said Crowe grabbed her in a bear hug, forced her out of the suite and had hotel security take her away.
Banks told a different version of events on Facebook. The post has since been deleted, but in it, she said that Crowe assaulted her and called her the n-word, and she expressed dismay that none of the men in the room intervened.
The post has since been deleted. (Photo via Facebook/E!)
In a vague follow-up post, she indicated that she had proof to back up her story, writing, "I have receipts. Stay tuned."
Crowe has remained mostly silent on the issue, though he did retweet TMZ's story. TMZ claims that RZA backs Crowe's version of events, and said Banks was the only person to use the n-word that night.
Banks recently announced that she'd signed with RZA and would be resurrecting her music career, according to Billboard. She also posted that she was no longer endorsing Donald Trump for president, writing on Facebook that she "made a major mistake endorsing toupey-toupee." Banks was recently involved in a scuffle with security at Breakroom 86, Koreatown 80s bar , though charges against her were dropped due to insufficient evidence. She is also accused of biting a security guard's breast at a club in New York.
Crowe is no stranger to controversy either. In 2002, Crowe attacked producer Malcom Gerrie after his speech at the BAFTAs was cut from a TV broadcast. In 2005, Crowe was accused of assault after throwing a telephone at the concierge of a New York hotel, hitting the man in the face. He pleaded guilty and settled with the concierge.
It's not clear which hotel it was where the alleged incident took place, though Crowe did host the 30th Annual American Cinematheque Awards Gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Friday night. We've reached out to the Beverly Hills Police Department to see what they have to say about the alleged incident, and will update this post when we hear back.
Update: Sgt. George DeMarois tells us that a report was taken by the Beverly Hills Police Department, and the ongoing investigation will be handled by the department's detective bureau.
