Benzino and Coi Leray’s relationship has been strained over the past few years, to say the least. It seems that the one-time co-owner of The Source has an ongoing beef with his daughter that he can’t seem to curb. The comments on both sides have been fiery, though Benzino’s have ranged from needless to downright bizarre. From spilling the beans about her Nicki Minaj collaboration to his wild remarks about Leray losing her virginity, Benzino arguably hasn't been able to take a step back when it comes to his rap star daughter.
Benzino Says Coil Leray Can’t Criticize His Support for R. Kelly
Benzino’s support of R. Kelly is widely known. He’s repeatedly stated that he believes the R&B singer deserves a second chance to redeem himself. Coi Leray’s response to this has been to further distance herself from her father, stating that she doesn’t approve of or respect any of the interviews he’s been doing lately. But a bizarre turn of events took place during a recent interview on the Famous & Wealthy Podcast. Benzino responded rather oddly to Coi’s decision to put more space between her and her father directly. He weaponized her reveal that she lost her virginity at 14 to both defend himself and R. Kelly, stating, “How can you say that when you just said that you lost your virginity at 14? So is the guy that you lost your virginity at 14 with, is he a pedophile?” This is definitely one of Benzino's weirdest comments.
Benzino Charges Coi Leray With Pushing A False Narrative
In a fall 2023 interview with Angie Martinez, Coi Leray discussed her shaky relationship with her father. She told Martinez that she sensed some jealousy from her father over her recent success. She added that it’s not something she holds against him since he’s “he’s human.” However well-intentioned her comments were, Benzino seemed to take them as a complete attack. In a since-deleted Instagram video, the 58-year-old responded in a rant. He called Leray’s comments, in so many words, ridiculous. He shot down any charges of envy, arguing that there’s no way he could be jealous of someone he “raised, nurtured, provided for, influenced, and loved very dearly.” The intensity of his response makes one of Benzino's weirdest comments. It also makes you wonder whether Benzino is trying to make amends or just saving face.
Benzino Lets Coi Leray-Nicki Minaj Collab Out Of The Bag
Benzino slipped a terribly timed comment about his daughter’s collaboration with Nicki Minaj, “Blick Blick.” It almost ensured the song never came out since Minaj faced pressure from her label to pull the track. Benzino teased that Leray “got this song with Nicki Minaj that’s gonna be coming out that’s gonna be crazy” on the audio chatroom Clubhouse. Leray, understandably heated, would hop on Instagram Live to publicly lambast her father, telling him to calm down and that “it’s [her] turn now.”
Benzino Threatens Coi Leray’s Mother
During an album promotion interview on The Breakfast Club in April 2022, Coi Leray publicly revealed that her father went broke over the loss of The Source magazine. She said she was about nine years old at the time. Leray would take to social media soon after to reveal that Benzino had sent threatening messages to her mother since the interview. She asked him to stop mistreating her and her mother because of his failures. This seemingly did nothing to slow Benzino down, as he retaliated by taking to X to tweet, “The problem with this…generation is that they have no respect or regard for who came before them and how they laid the blueprint for them to be successful.” His almost compulsive need to have the last word has led onlookers to question the motivation behind his public responses.
Benzino Says Busta Rhymes Should’ve Called Him
In a February interview on Drink Champs, Benzino expressed his upset over Coi Leray shooting a music video for “Luxury Life” with Busta Rhymes. He asked, “How come [Busta Rhymes] didn’t call me?” The answer seems fairly obvious; Leray is a grown woman with a career and makes her own decisions. But this didn’t seem clear to Benzino, who continued, “If he has my number, call me, ‘Hey bro, I’m getting ready to do videos with your daughter’ – that’s my f******* daughter.” The Drink Champs hosts tried to be understanding but were caught off-guard by this statement, one of Benzino's weirdest comments. They then became downright confused when he stated moments late that “ain’t no beef with Busta Rhymes.” He’s obviously upset with Leray’s part in the Busta Rhymes video, but his anger seems misdirected at best.