In a video released by TMZ, it is clear that maybe there had been some truth to the rumors that American Idol judges Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey are not the best of friends!

The Internet was abuzz recently as a video posted by entertainment news site TMZ showed Nicki Minaj blasting Mariah Carey in what appears an inaudible tirade. In the video Keith Urban appears to be trying to calm Nicki down while Randy Jackson doesn’t seem interested in being a part of it. You can also hear producers in the background trying to cool the situation. Check out the video for yourself:

Eeeek! This doesn’t look good. You can hear Nicki saying, “If you’ve got a f–king problem, handle it!” though the rest of the video is largely inaudible. TMZ is also reporting that Minaj threatened to “knock [Carey] out.” According to the same report, the entire debacle happened over a contestant’s performance.

According to TMZ, the conversation went as follows:

Nicki: Get this s**t in self control. Get in control. Get in control.
Randy: Settle down, settle down
Nicki: Don’t lose your head. Don’t lose your head (inaudible). Don’t tell me I’m a gangster.
Nicki: (inaudible) every 5 minutes. So every time you patronize me, I’m-ma take it back, and if you’ve got a f**king problem, handle it.
Nicki: I told them I’m not f**kin’ putting up with her f**king highness over there. Figure it the f**k out. Figure it out.
Nicki: I’m not gonna sit here every f**king minute to have you come down and harass me every minute everyday.

It is also being reported by TMZ that producers and executives with American Idol are trying to make sure Mariah doesn’t feel compelled to leave the show after the altercation as she was their first choice to judge the show this season.

Earlier yesterday, Mariah Carey tweeted “whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy,” before it was eventually removed from her page.

We understand a little bit of a confrontation happening (it’s almost expected with these two personalities) but for Minaj to go as far as to threaten to “knock” Mariah out is extremely too far. Violence, even in a sarcastic heat of debate, is never the answer or appropriate reaction to an altercation.

The question now is how will American Idol and the judges themselves react to the fact that this video has made its way online? Will they issue an apology? Will they save face for the camera? It’s a little early in the process of filming the show’s 12th season to already have a major blow up.

We expect this story to develop and will be keeping up on all of the latest information released.

Do you think Nicki should have handled herself better in the situation?