Nicki Minaj on American Idol Blow Up: Mariah Started It!

The rapper’s camp says the pop diva instigated argument. 

Behind-the-scenes drama at American Idol spilled into the spotlight earlier today when a video of Nicki Minaj telling off her fellow judge Mariah Carey at an audition in North Carolina leaked online. According to Nicki's camp, though, it was Mariah who fired the first shots.

In the tape, published by TMZ, Nicki is clearly at her wit's end, fuming about being disrespected by Carey. Sources close to the Young Money queen say that Carey had berated her before the clip began, calling her a "b--ch" multiple times. That's when Nicki, who was already fed up with Carey for her habit of grandstanding and name-dropping, snapped.

"Think I'm playin? Think this sh-t is a f---ing joke? Think it’s a joke? Think it’s a joke? Think it’s a joke? Say one more disrespectful thing to me, if you say one more disrespectful thing to me — off with your head!" Minaj is heard shouting.

Later in the tape, Mariah is heard slinging shots of her own.

"Oh why, WHYYYY do I have a three-year-old sitting around me?” she says.

If Idol producers were looking to make sparks fly this season, they may have gotten more than they bargained for.