Ashanti, an American singer who gained fame in the early 2000s, spoke out Wednesday about her relationship with music producer Irv Gotti after the Murder Inc. Records founder claimed they had a romantic past.

During an episode of Angie Martinez's "IRL" podcast, Ashanti, whose full name is Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas, addressed comments Gotti made about their relationship in the BET docuseries "The Murder Inc Story" and an episode of the "Drink Champs."

"Let's clear this up," the 42-year-old said. "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."

Gotti, whose full name is Irving Domingo Lorenzo, produced multiple high-selling records for Ashanti, Ja Rule, and Jennifer Lopez from 1998 to 2004.

Ashanti described Gotti as "narcissistic" and "selfish." She claimed he manifested the relationship and later turned "into a completely different person" when she wasn't as passionate about their fling.

"Irv has flat-out lied about a lot of things," Ashanti added. "It's weird. It's very weird when you know you're lying, and you just keep lying. That's where it becomes a little scary and a little mental."

Ashanti revealed Gotti was also jealous when she began dating rapper Nelly and tried to derail her career over that relationship.

"Irv was salty. Irv would not let me come to the studio to record. Irv was telling everyone not to record with me... You know what he said to me? He said, 'Nah, you want to be with Nelly? Go sign to Derrty Entertainment. We don't want you,'" Ashanti said.

Ashanti claimed the 52-year-old went as far as to send "death threats" to her labelmates, hair stylist, and others.

"I definitely feel like manipulation played a heavy part into me and Irv's situation," Ashanti said.

"He would say stuff like, 'No one wants to record with you, nobody (expletive) with you like that.' On one hand, he would make it feel like family, and on the other hand, he would tell me, 'Nobody even likes you.'"

Ashanti suggested that Gotti's behavior and comments may ruin how the public remembers the record label. ​​

"It's a little sad to see a grown man conduct himself in that manner," she said.

"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."

Ashanti
Singer Ashanti gave an interview before the BCBGMAXAZRIA show. Reuters
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