Showbiz411

I take it back: I thought all this stuff between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey on the “American Idol” audition tour was just hype, for publicity. In the past, “Idol” was all about fake feuds. But I am told with certainty by sources on the tour that it all happened, that Minaj threatened Carey quite seriously. As The NY Post reports today, Mariah’s security was immediately beefed up. There was actually discussion with local police in Baton Rouge. Good grief! Since it is true, I wonder why Fox hasn’t fired Minaj? This is unacceptable behavior. Listen, Mariah Carey neither needs the money or the aggravation to put up with such antics. It’s up to Fox to protect her, I have an eyewitness who’s heard and seen the entire debacle.

By the way, Nicki Minaj, who’s from Trinidad, and grew up in Queens, New York, comes from a violent background. This was a Q&A in Details:

Your father set fire to your home when you were a kid in Queens, New York. What happened?
A: He drank a lot and did drugs, and he would get violent when he did. When he set fire to the house, he was attempting to kill my mother. She got out before it burned all the way down. I’ve always had this female-empowerment thing in the back of my mind—because I wanted my mother to be stronger, and she couldn’t be. I thought, “If I’m successful, I can change her life.”

Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.