(Credit: TMZ/BACKGRID/Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
Ja Rule found himself at the center of mid-air drama after getting into a heated argument with Tony Yayo and Uncle Murda during a Delta flight from San Francisco to New York City.
Footage of the Feb. 8 altercation, obtained by TMZ, shows the 49-year-old rapper appearing visibly upset as he repeatedly yells, “What we doing?” while someone off camera, believed to be Tony Yayo, shouts back expletives. In the clip, another man is seen placing his hands on Ja Rule’s shoulders, seemingly trying to calm him down as tensions rise in the packed cabin.
After the incident, Ja Rule took to X to address what happened, brushing it off as “hilarious.” He also claimed he “popped on these punks” and said he threw a pillow at Yayo’s head during the confrontation.
Ja Rule later posted a video of the clash to his Instagram Stories on Tuesday, Feb. 10, keeping the story alive as it continued to spread online.
In a statement to PEOPLE, the rapper didn’t hold back, calling the two men “clowns” and claiming he confronted them because of past comments they’ve made about him.
“These f—ing clowns…” he told the outlet in a statement. “I saw them when I got on, I was laughing like look at these two clowns lol they look like they saw a ghost deer in the headlights they were always talking s— so I addressed them lol.”
However, the tone shifted two days later. On Feb. 12, Ja Rule issued a public apology, acknowledging the situation had gotten out of hand. He posted a screenshot from an ABC News broadcast on Instagram that included a quote from him reflecting on the viral footage.
“I’m not proud of my behavior. It’s goofy to me. I’m a grown man about to be a proud grandfather and I wish that video of me wasn’t out there either,” it read. “I don’t like people taking me out of my character, so for that I apologize to my wife, family, fans, business and investment partners. I want people to know at the end of the day I’m still a man and I’m going to stand my ground. I don’t start trouble.”
Meanwhile, Uncle Murda posted his own perspective of the incident on his official Instagram account. A video clip appears to capture the moments leading up to the argument. In the footage, Ja Rule is seen sitting in a row ahead when someone in the background says, “Sucka ass Ja Rule on the plane.” Ja Rule quickly turns around and begins shouting back before the video cuts out.
In a follow-up slide, Uncle Murda suggested Ja Rule left the plane after the confrontation, writing in the caption: “Ja got off the plane lol I took his seat.”
Delta later confirmed that the situation was addressed by crew members, stating that “two customers were spoken to by the cabin crew following a disagreement” and “one customer was rebooked on a later flight.”
The incident also caught the attention of 50 Cent, who has famously feuded with Ja Rule for more than two decades. The rapper reposted Uncle Murda’s video and mocked Ja Rule in the caption.
“He was by himself, so he had to make a scene so they could remove his scary ass.” Uncle Murda and Tony Yayo responded with multiple crying laughing emojis.
Despite the long-running tension, Ja Rule previously said in a 2023 interview with The Shade Room that he was open to squashing the feud, saying, “life is short.”
“I think these things can be mended,” he said. “Maybe I got a little too much MLK in me, but especially amongst Black people, I don’t like to see us beefing, that’s clown s— to me.”
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