By Amy Croffey
Russell Crowe will not be charged with forcibly removing rapper Azealia Banks from his party because his actions were justified and carried out in order to protect his other guests, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney's office.
Witnesses told investigators that Banks, 25, was the "assaultive party", used a racial epithet and after making a throat-cutting threat Crowe, 52, "escorted" her out of his Beverly Hills Hotel suite, according to AAP.
Russell Crowe will not be charged with forcibly removing rapper Azealia Banks from his Beverly Hills Hotel party in October.Credit: Kevork Djansezian
"The physical escort out of the room was justified to prevent the imminent violence threatened by Banks," the LA DA added.
While the same office told People: "The DA's office declined to file charges due to lack of sufficient evidence."
Azealia Banks claimed the actor called her a racial slur, choked her and spat at her.Credit: Jeff Kravitz
The 212 singer claimed the New Zealand-born, Australian-raised actor called her a racial slur, choked her and spat at her during a gathering of about 10 people in Suite 117 at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Saturday, October 15, and filed a police report of battery over the incident.
Speaking to British tabloid The Sun, she called him a "racist, misogynist pig" and claimed the separated father-of-two flirted with her prior to their confrontation while he was drinking a mixture of "moonshine, whisky, vodka".
"Russell and I get next to each other. He's talking to me, I'm talking to him, and we start flirting. We're having a really good time. He's got his knee on my knee, he's touching my leg, I'm playing him my music, he tweets my song The Big Big Beat.
"He's like, 'I love this, you're beautiful, this is great'," she said.
Banks said things turned sour when she insulted a guest. Crowe told her she was inexperienced and Banks told him: "Your best days are behind you". A female guest defended Crowe and when Banks threatened to throw a glass at her, he intervened.
"He calls me a n-----, and then grabs me, picks me up, he chokes me by the throat, picks me up, throws me out of the room and then spits on me," Banks said.
Crowe has not responded publicly, save for retweeting TMZ's article about "tossing" her out of his hotel suite and a People story with the heading, "Azealia Banks wants Russell Crowe to apologise for alleged attack, but witnesses refute her claims: sources".
Speaking about the incident recently with Fairfax Media, his ex-wife and mother of his two sons, Danielle Spencer said: "Russell always has my full support."
Both Banks and Crowe have had their fair share of misdemeanours in the past.
Banks was recently barred from Twitter after a racist rant against former One Direction star Zayn Malik. She has a long-running feud with Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, who she has accused of cultural appropriation. In March, after Azalea spoke about her struggles with depression, Banks took to Instagram to encourage her to commit suicide.
She has also fallen out with Sarah Palin (who she said should be gang raped), Eminem, Rita Ora and Lily Allen, and used homophobic slurs against showbiz blogger, Perez Hilton.
Meanwhile, this is Crowe's second hotel row. In 2005, he was fined and given a conditional discharge by a New York court after admitting to throwing a phone that hit a hotel employee when he couldn't call his wife Danielle Spencer in Australia.
In 2002, Crowe got into a fight in a London restaurant with Eric Watson, the owner of the New Zealand Warriors rugby team, after allegedly making remarks about the team's colour.