Fans Slam Irv Gotti's Brother For Calling Out Ashanti

Fans are displeased with the late Irv Gotti's brother, Chris Gotti, after his comments about Ashanti.

During a recent podcast appearance, Chris accused Ashanti of downplaying the role Irv played in her rise to stardom.

Ashanti and Irv had history and made headlines in the past over comments he made about her and her response to them. However, despite their differences, the singer paid tribute to the music executive after his death in February.

Chris was a guest on a recent episode of the "Let's Keep It 100 Podcast" and discussed his late brother's relationship with Ashanti.

Recall that the singer previously denied dating Irv, but Chris claimed they were indeed in a relationship.

He said per HipHopDX, "She says they wasn't in a relationship. They was in a relationship. I was they therapist."

Chris added, "Like, come on now, don't do that. But at the end of the day, that's what makes what went on with them so real."

He went on to commend Ashanti for consistently speaking positively and respectfully about Irv, pointing out that not many people have kind words for their exes.

Although Chris acknowledged that Irv sometimes crossed the line when discussing Ashanti, he justified it by saying he only responded to questions and was simply a “straight shooter.”

Afterward, Chris shared his feelings about what he felt was Ashanti's belittling of his late brother's influence on her career.

He said, "For her to act like it ain't Murder Inc. that made her is f-cking b-llsh-t or Irv made her. She had three deals before him. Like, something with y'all chemistry worked out! Respect it! That's all."

Chris continued, "Not saying you have to talk about the n-gga, but respect the magic that was made. That's all I said. I'm not gonna let no one talk about my brother gonna have a problem, simple and plain. Especially someone who he made their career."

He also claimed Irv made Ashanti "sing records" the way she did because she "would've never sang it that way" if it were up to her.

The Art of Dialogue shared a clip from Chris's interview on X, and many netizens took turns slamming him for speaking about Ashanti the way he did.

One person wrote, "I've never seen a group full of grown a-- men who are pop pop age attack a woman ALL the time. We talking two decades or more. Yes, you did big things with her for two albums. After that second album, it was on her to keep it going because Murder Inc. literally wasn't promoting."

Another X user shared, "Dude, she moved on so leave her alone. Just let it go!! Everyone knew she was writing and singing vocals for others. You didn't make her, Irv simply gave her a chance to show and share HER TALENT."

A third person added, "Sir f-ck you and as for Irv...well, y'all n-ggas ain't GOD, y'all ain't make nobody! Y'all always say that sh-t in relation to her and other women in the industry. And if you were so great at it, why y'all couldn't make another Ashanti?"

A fourth person warned Chris not to infuriate Ashanti's husband, Nelly. They wrote, "Lmfao they keep trying to poke the bear, they must've forgotten who Nelly was. The last thing you want is a man feeling like you're disrespecting his wife."

Another X user advised, "Ashanti married and moved on! Let this go."

During a 2022 appearance on "Drink Champs," Irv claimed Ashanti's song "Happy" came about after they had sex. However, she responded to those claims during a candid interview on her "IRL podcast."

The "Foolish" singer clarified her relationship with Irv. She said, "Let's clear this up, we're not gonna say relationship. 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."

Ashanti also accused Irv of "flat-out" lying about their relationship, suggesting he misconstrued it.

She said, "I think that Irv definitely has his side and his version. You know, like, you may think that it's something and the other person knows that it's not, and you manifest this thing into something big, and it's really not that. And then when that person finally realizes that it's not that, it turns them into a completely different person."

Although Ashanti didn't explicitly deny that there might have been a romantic element to her relationship with Irv, she shared that she felt he manipulated her during a period when she was young and impressionable.

Reflecting on their complicated history, she said, "I definitely feel like manipulation played a heavy part into me and Irv's situation. He would say stuff like, 'No one wants to record with you, nobody f-cks with you like that.' On one hand, he would make it feel like family-family-family, and on the other hand, he would tell me, 'Nobody even likes you.'"

She added that it was tough to process at the time. "It was hard because that gullible little Suzie [was like], 'Why? How come? I don’t even know them, why they don’t like me?' Growing and becoming a woman and more mature, then you start to reflect on certain things, and it's like, 'Oh, that's what was going on!'"

Despite her and Irv's strained relationship, Ashanti paid a glowing tribute to him after his death.

In the post, the 44-year-old acknowledged that she and Irv "weren't on the best terms the past few years," but said she was "grateful for everything" he did for her.