Heyyyyy Big Head! Nelly Nervously Beelined Through Verzuz Stage To Hug Ex Ashanti & Blew Up Twitter
Source: Rick Diamond / Getty
Nelly seemed to nearly knocked Fat Joe off stage last night trying to greet his ex Ashanti while hundreds of thousands of folks tuned in to watch the Verzuz battle between The Bronx emcee and Ja Rule — and he even seemed to request a hug.
For the Verzuz event, Ja Rule and Fat Joe battled at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater. Both rappers welcomed some of their most famous music collaborators to perform, including Lil Mo and Vita.
Ashanti appeared to work a double shift as she sang some of her hits with Ja Rule, but then also performed “What’s Luv?” with both artists. Meanwhile, her ex, Nelly was waiting in the wings for her a few songs later after he also perform his hit “Get It Poppin’” with Joe.
From the footage, Nelly seemed anxious to go get a hug from Ashanti. Cameras caught him beeline past Ja Rule, nearly tripping up Joe. Unfortunately, the footage cut away at that exact moment, so it’s unclear exactly how the interaction ended — however these two seemed to be all smiles and happy to see each other.
Hit play to see it.
The footage caused quite the stir on Twitter, with fans speculating about what happens next since the camera cut away.
Where the BET camera workers when you need them?! They would have been messy! Who Nelly hugged?? Ashanti? #Verzuz pic.twitter.com/qSmGM3Kg9M
— RLW (@MrRLWalton) September 15, 2021
Oh thankfully for the Internet, another angle shows that the two actually did hug briefly and were friendly.
Here a better angle of Nelly walking up to hug Ashanti ? #VERZUZ pic.twitter.com/uJMJSRoVIB
— ♌️? (@LadiiJ88) September 15, 2021
Nelly and Ashanti started dating circa 2003 and were together for more than ten years before calling it quits in 2014. Although the two were pretty private about the breakup, Ashanti admitted that a lack of trust is what led to things ending.
“I think sometimes when people have their own insecurities, it allows them to act out of character,” she admitted in 2015. “I’ve been betrayed. I’m not a big fan of people being cowards. I’m in a different place now.” During a concert in 2018, she also told the crowd, “I’ve been betrayed before, publicly. F***that.” In response, one fan yelled out, “F*** Nelly,” to which Ashanti reportedly responded, “Word!”
Nelly also called it quits with his ex, Shantal Jackson, revealing he’s been single for two years. Would YOU be here for a Nelly & Ashanti reunion?
