Ashanti Blasted By Chris Gotti For Denying Relationship With Irv Gotti: 'I Was Their Therapist'
Speaking candidly on the Let's Keep it 100 podcast, Chris expressed frustration over Ashanti's portrayal of her past with Irv, particularly her assertion that their involvement never amounted to a real relationship.
'She says they wasn't in a relationship. They was in a relationship,' Chris stated. He went on to describe himself as a frequent mediator during their private conflicts, saying, 'I was they therapist. 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.'
Chris also took issue with Ashanti's downplaying of Irv Gotti and Murder Inc.'s contributions to her success, suggesting her rise in the music industry wouldn't have happened the same way without Irv's influence.
'For her to act like it ain't Murder Inc. that made her is f**king bullsh*t or Irv made her. She had three deals before him. Like, something with y'all chemistry worked out! Respect it! That's all. Not saying you have to talk about the ni**a, but respect the magic that was made. That's all I said.'
'I'm not gonna let no one talk about my brother, [we're] gonna have a problem, simple and plain. Especially someone who he made their career. Like, I was there. He made you sing records the way you sang them cause you would've never sang it that way if it was up to you,' he continued.
Chris's comments were made in response to remarks Ashanti gave during her 2022 appearance on Angie Martinez's IRL podcast, in which she addressed Irv Gotti's earlier statements on Drink Champs. 'Let's clear this up,' Ashanti said.
'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.'
She continued, 'I think that Irv definitely has his side and his version… you may think that it's something and the other person knows that it's not… Irv has flat-out lied about a lot of things.'
Ashanti added that manipulation played a role in their dynamic, sharing, 'He would say stuff like, 'No one wants to record with you, nobody f**ks with you like that.''
Despite their complicated history, Ashanti insisted she had no interest in exposing Irv's secrets, stating, 'I'm happy, I'm in a different space… I don't play in the mud.'
The heated back-and-forth between the two camps has simmered in the wake of Gotti's death, with Ashanti paying tribute to the Queens, N.Y., native in a public statement on social media.
Ashanti and Irv Gotti were at the heart of Murder Inc.'s meteoric rise in the early 2000s, creating hits like 'Foolish' and 'Happy' — tracks that dominated the charts and cemented the label's place in Hip-Hop and R&B history.
Tragically, Irv Gotti passed away in February 2025 after reportedly suffering from a 'major hemorrhagic stroke' stemming from his longstanding bout with diabetes. Gotti was 54 at the time of his death.
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She also nails it when it comes to understanding how I feel about PDA (usually a big no go), feeling seen during sex and wanting to spend time with people who are passionate about what they do. However, ever the cynic, I start doubting her psychic abilities when she predicts I'm looking for a 'big love' and someone who is 'looking to marry, or someone to settle down with, or someone at least not scared of those things'. Right now, I'm not looking for a love of any size. Following a difficult breakup a few years ago, it's taken me a while to come back to the dating scene and I have no interest in starting a serious relationship with anyone. I like going on dates, meeting new people and having a flirt with a guy at the bar, but finding my soulmate and moving in with them, as she suggests I am going to in the next few months, is not part of my plan. It almost feels to me (the cynic, hi!) like she's making a blanket reading, based on what she thinks I want to hear, based entirely on the fact I'm a single woman in her 20s. But the gender-based stereotype in which all women are looking for their soulmate and a serious relationship as the end goal couldn't be further from the truth for me. Still, I show her my Hinge and Bumble matches. They're a mix of guys I've gone on dates with and ones I'm considering seeing. She instantly picks up on the energy of Max*, someone I'd gone for a drink with and was on the fence about seeing again. 'He's passionate. He's quite full-on. He has an inquiring mind, so he'd suit you on that level, but it's just how much substance there is there,' she says. Then there's Oliver*. We'd had a good date, and he gave off easy-going vibes, but Sheila quickly warns, 'I think he gives across this image of very complete and very together, easy to talk to and easy to be with. But there's a little bit of a control element there.' It's surprising, as I usually deem myself a pretty good judge of character. (Side note: I continue speaking to Oliver over the next few weeks to test the theory. The control element never rears its ugly head, so was Sheila really picking up bad energy or was it just a punt that didn't land?) We then get to new potential matches and I ask which two I should go on dates with. She rattles through them, giving verdicts on each in our remaining seven minutes, hilariously referring to the many shirtless guys as 'action men' (what can I say? I have a type) before settling on Toby and Jack*. She likes Toby because 'there's something sweet about him. He has a good sense of humour, he's genuine and down to earth. He's good-looking'. And Jack she suggests because, 'The people he cares about, he cares about very well. He has a very protective side. What you see is what you get.' I send them both messages, and while I never hear back from Jack, the chat flows with Toby and we arrange a date. It's refreshingly easy and I question whether I've got it wrong. Maybe Sheila does know what she's talking about. To get a second opinion, I arrange a virtual chat with another psychic, Hillary, on Nebula. I send her photos of matches and she also likes Toby's vibe. She calls him a 'sweetheart' and thinks I'll enjoy 'his personality and he'll make [me] laugh'. Both psychics are right, Toby does make me laugh and I enjoy chatting to him ahead of our date. However, there are warning signs for me. Namely, he's looking for a serious relationship. While that isn't a red flag in itself, of course, he's strict on the idea of not dating more than one person at once. As someone who used to put all their eggs in one basket, ignoring warning signs and carrying on with the relationship, I'm hesitant to do the same moving forwards. We're both open about this and agree to go on the date; after all, we might not like each other in real life. The date starts off well. We talk about our weeks and the Game Of Thrones actor we spot heading into the pub garden behind us, and share a quick kiss. But then things get very serious. He brings up his boundaries and reveals a lot of past trauma. It's deep for a first date and, in fairness, I also open up on my own relationship history. We leave on a good note, but I come away from the whole thing feeling weighed down. He seems committed to getting into a relationship, but it's too much and there's pressure to abandon what I want in order to date him. After a few days, I decide to send him (what I thought was) a polite message saying how great it was to meet him, but neither of us should feel obligated to give up our dating goals to make the other happy. Cue three voice notes barraging me for going on a date when I don't want a relationship and not telling him about it beforehand (I did). Playing them confirms I made the right decision. Weeks later, Toby messages me out of the blue, asking if I've changed my mind. I don't reply, but it gets me thinking. Were the psychics right? In some ways, yes. There's a world in which, had I followed what they said blindly, I would have committed to dating Toby and getting into a serious relationship, as they predicted. But I know myself better than anyone, and I know that isn't what's best for me right now (especially not with someone so eager to put pressure on me to bend my own boundaries for the sake of theirs). I'm grateful to my own inner soothsayer for cutting my losses early. And grateful to the psychics, and this experiment, for solidifying my belief that I'm nowhere near wanting a relationship. It's reminded me that when I do go searching, I'll carry on trusting my own intuition over anyone else's. Lia Mappoura (she/her) is the Beauty Writer at Cosmopolitan UK. Covering everything from viral celebrity hair and makeup news to the latest trend predictions, she's an expert in recognising the season's next big beauty look (before it ends up all over your social media feeds). You'll usually find her putting TikTok's recent beauty hacks to the Hype Test, challenging the gender-makeup binary and social stereotypes, or fangirling over the time Kourtney Kardashian viewed her Instagram Story (yes, it's true). Find her also on LinkedIn. Lydia Venn is Cosmopolitan UK's Senior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer. She covers everything from TV and film, to the latest celebrity news. She also writes across our work/life section regularly creating quizzes, covering exciting new food releases and sharing the latest interior must-haves. In her role she's interviewed everyone from Margot Robbie to Niall Horan, and her work has appeared on an episode of The Kardashians. After completing a degree in English at the University of Exeter, Lydia moved into fashion journalism, writing for the Daily Express, before working as Features Editor at The Tab, where she spoke on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour and Talk Radio. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of Gilmore Girls and 00s teen movies, and in her free time can be found with a margarita in hand watching the Real Housewives on repeat. Find her on LinkedIn.
