Nicki Minaj certainly caused a stir this week on American Idol, when she was missing at showtime then appeared 13 minutes into the broadcast. Now, reports are starting to emerge from the show that producers are fuming over Minaj’s lateness.
Wednesday was a particularly important night for the series, as the first live show of the season and first live show for the new judges.
The broadcast opened awkwardly, with Minaj missing from the judges’ table. Mariah Carey sat giving a rather scathing stare, while Randy Jackson and Keith Urban remained quiet. Host Ryan Seacrest tried to break the tension. “Which one of you gave Nicki the wrong directions today? Which one of you drained the fuel from her car?” he said, subtlety alluding to all the hoopla about a beef with Carey, who still did not look pleased.
“Mariah was just annoyed, she’s really over (Nicki.) They were all just embarrassed that it happened,” a source told Fox. The source continued that off camera “Ryan was the angriest and Nigel (Lythgoe, executive producer) was mad too. Nicki knew better.”
It does seem odd Nicki would be that late. Typically, a hair and makeup call would he hours before the broadcast started, especially with this being Minaj’s first live Idol show and her generally elaborate look. So, Nicki likely was late by a few hours in the grand scheme of things. An accident on the 405 would have to be pretty catastrophic to cause a delay of that caliber.
Nicki has been the wildcard this entire season, getting up and storming out a few times during the auditions when she disagreed with another judge. At times, her “fight” with Carey has seem forced and feigned, with Nicki frequently being portrayed as over dramatic.
Wednesday’s tardiness was just another hurdle for producers in dealing with Minaj. A rep for FOX maintains “Ryan addressed it at the top of the show” and that there would be no further comment.
Nicki’s rep declined to comment entirely.
