‘American Idol’ Producer: ‘Nicki Minaj And Mariah Carey Feud Not A Ratings Ploy’

After reports have been released that American Idol was trying to hype up the upcoming season with leaked footage of Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey feuding, head producer Nigel Lythgoe is denying that it’s all a stunt. When MTV caught up with Lythoe last week and was asked about what might be American Idol’s biggest ratings ploy, Nigel denied that the beef wasn’t anything but real.

Lythgoe said, “I have no idea why I would be doing it [for ratings] five months before the show went out. So they’ve got to realize I would only do anything for ratings a month before the show went out. They’ve got my timing wrong.”

Who’s the “they” he’s referring to, you ask? Well, it might be former judge and current naysayer Steven Tyler. Tyler who has publicly lambasted the show in the past spoke out about whether or not he thought the fight was staged to which he said, “Of course, are you kidding?”

Since news of the fight broke out, there hasn’t been news of other subsequent fights, but neither side has offered a public apology either. However, according to Lythgoe, they aren’t as bad as the media paints them to be. “They were amicable that afternoon,” Lythgoe said. “And I think before anybody makes any judgments they should see the show.”

The only person connected to camp Mariah that has spoken about the fight in which Carey’s life was threatened by Minaj is husband Nick Cannon who chalked it all up to “theatrics.” However, it’s the show’s long running host Ryan Seacrest that admitted on his own radio show that the fight had went “too far.”

What do you think? Was the fight and subsequent leak staged?