Was There Ever Bad Blood Between Beyonce And Ashanti?
During the early '00s, Beyoncé was one artist among a slew of new R&B and pop divas who were all battling to become the next Janet Jackson, Celine Dion, or Whitney Houston. Among them were Aaliyah, Christina Milian, Brandy, and Britney Spears, to name a few. There was also R&B singer Ashanti, who may have actually been Beyoncé's most formidable opponent. While Beyoncé's career kicked off with Destiny's Child in the '90s, she and Ashanti actually debuted their solo efforts one year apart. Ashanti's debut came in 2002 with her hit single, "Foolish," which spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the charts, per Billboard. Meanwhile, Beyoncé's official debut was 2003's "Crazy In Love," which held the No. 1 spot for eight weeks and birthed her iconic "uh-oh" dance.
Both singles preceded critically-acclaimed and commercially successful albums. Ashanti's self-titled debut sold 502,000 copies in the first week alone, per the Los Angeles Times. Meanwhile, Beyoncé's "Dangerously In Love" didn't quite match Ashanti's success, selling 317,000 copies in the first week, according to Billboard. And while Ashanti first held strong, Beyoncé eventually eclipsed a threshold that few stars have managed to reach. With that said, the early days of both Beyoncé and Ashanti's careers were marred by rumors of feuds. But was all of the talk surrounding them just speculation, or did they actually have one of the biggest celeb feuds of the early '00s?
Beyoncé and Ashanti were cool ... but the media wasn't
Comparisons between Beyoncé and Ashanti ran rampant during the early days of their solo careers. One of the most public instances occurred back in 2003 when The New York Times published an opinion piece titled, "The Solo Beyoncé: She's No Ashanti." The piece placed Ashanti's star power ahead of Beyoncé's. In recent years, publications like HuffPost and Vox have periodically pointed back to it when discussing the irony of Beyoncé's dominating presence within the music industry today.
Fortunately, these comparisons never amounted to a personal feud between the stars. "Every female artist, we all have something different to offer," said Beyoncé while speaking to MTV News in 2003. "I love Monica's record. I like Ashanti's record. I respect all of those people. There's room for all of us." Ashanti, too, was of the same accord in 2017, when discussing her reaction to the "infamous" New York Times article. "I was just like wow, you know, it was ... super flattering," shared Ashanti, per Entertainment Tonight. "What I didn't like so much is that the media has a way of pitting people against each other." She continued, "[Beyoncé] and I had always had a very cool camaraderie. It was always like 'Hey, what's up, how you doing? Oh, I like your sneakers.'" She concluded her thoughts with: "I'm too happy with myself to just be an envious kind of a person."
Ashanti and Beyonce once worked together
Unfortunately, an official Beyoncé and Ashanti collaboration doesn't exist. However, they did once perform together for an amazing cause. In 2008, Stand Up to Cancer — a charitable initiative that raises funds for cancer research and alternative therapies — brought together the biggest divas at the time for a special charity performance during Fashion Rocks. Of course, Beyoncé and Ashanti were a part of it, as well as Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and many more. The Irish Examiner cited the performance as a way for the stars to put an end to feuding rumors.
"When you get two women making hot music, comparisons are going to be made and talk of feuds begins," shared Ashanti with the publication. "I admire what she does and don't have a problem with her. I've talked about making a record with other strong females. I'd love to do something with Mary." Beyoncé further proved that there's no bad blood between the two performers when she featured Ashanti on her website to wish her a Happy Birthday in 2020. Long story short? Everything is good between Beyoncé and Ashanti. Beyoncé and Kelis's relationship, however, is a whole other saga.