It looks like Ashanti is having a press run of her own. After remaining relatively silent earlier this year as Irv Gotti spoke freely about the evolution of their rumored '90s romance, Ashanti is giving her side of the story. She emerged as Murder Inc's songbird and became a global sensation under its umbrella, but it wasn't her musical contributions that caught fans' attention during Gotti's interviews.
The Murder Inc label head floated from one platform to the next speaking about his relationship with the singer. He talked about their intimate moments being the inspiration behind her hits and alleged that Ashanti left him in the dust when federal authorities came knocking.
On the heels of the release of a trailer that features Ashanti sitting down for a one-on-one with Angie Martinez, the singer also made an appearance with Ebro in the Morning on Hot 97. In a clip shared by the station, Ebro asked why she wouldn't be in the Murder Inc documentary that was released via BET.
"I think that once someone goes after you and attacks you and intentionally tries to consistently hurt you, at some point, you have to protect yourself," she answered. "I just felt like I don't want to put myself in that space, in that energy, because it was really, really negative."
Ebro said that as an observer, he's watching it unfold with the rest of the world. He wanted to know if this tension was business or personal.
"I think it's a combination of being bitter because of the business and how things happened in his mind," Ashanti said. "After a while, you assume that a grown man kinda understands what it is and moves on."
Meanwhile, after receiving waves of backlash over his remarks about Ashanti, Irv said he wouldn't be talking about her anymore.
Check out Ashanti's Hot 97 interview below.