Azealia Banks Was The Attacker In Altercation With Russell Crowe, Claim Witnesses

Azealia Banks was the aggressor in a physical and verbal altercation involving Russell Crowe, witnesses said, according to TMZ.

It was initially reported that the 25-year-old American rapper posted on Facebook that the 52-year-old New Zealand-born actor “choked and spat” on her at a gathering in Crowe’s suite at Beverly Hills hotel during the weekend. The actor had reportedly invited the small group of people present to have dinner and listen to some music, according to the Daily Mail.

“To recap my night, I went to a party at Russell crowe’s suite, at which he called me a n----r, choked me, threw me out and spat at me,” said Banks in her post, which has since been deleted. “Last night was one of the hardest nights of sleep I’ve had in a long time.”

In TMZ's report, however, witnesses said that the squabble began when Banks, who was reportedly brought along to the gathering by rapper RZA, laughed at Crowe’s choice of music. Banks then allegedly called Crowe and another guest “boring white men.”

A female guest reportedly defended Crowe and told Banks to take it easy. But Banks apparently refused to heed the advice and instead launched into a tirade against the actor and the woman who defended him.

“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---,” Banks allegedly said.

The rapper allegedly said “n---a” a number of times and then took her glass and tilted it, at which point Crowe grabbed hold of her and took her out of the room. Crowe subsequently called security, who took the actress away, said the report.

The four witnesses who spoke with investigators all described Banks as having been “erratic” during the incident, according to TMZ's source.

Meanwhile, Banks took to Facebook and said that Crowe called her a “n---a,” in addition to physically harming her.

“Just feel so low and mishandled and alone and f-----g depressed right now. I wish I had someone to beat him up for me,” she said in another Facebook post, which has also been deleted.

Banks also alleged that the men at the party allowed the incident to happen.