Azealia Banks’ Attack Claims Against Russell Crowe Declined by Los Angeles District Attorney
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office will not be prosecuting Russell Crowe after rapper Azealia Banks claimed he assaulted her and kicked her out of his hotel room during an intimate dinner party in October, PEOPLE can confirm.
According to accounts, Banks, 25, was among 10 guests joining Crowe, 52, for a laid-back evening of dinner and music at a private gathering in the Beverly Hills Hotel on Oct. 15. She was brought to the party as rapper and director RZA’’s plus-one — where she claimed she was “spat on, choked, thrown out of a room, and called a ‘n—–’ ” by Crowe.
Banks filed a police report with Beverly Hills Police Department shortly after 3 a.m. the following day. But on Tuesday, the D.A. declined to prosecute Crowe.
“The D.A.’s office declined to file charges due to lack of sufficient evidence,” a spokesperson for the office told PEOPLE.
Reps for Banks and Crowe did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
In court documents obtained by PEOPLE, the D.A.’s office goes into more details of what they found in their investigation.
“Several attendees describe Banks, not Crowe, as the assaultive party,” the documents read. “Witnesses state that prior to being ejected from the hotel room by Crowe, Banks repeatedly used a racial epithet, was verbally aggressive to party attendees and threatened to break a glass to cut the throat of a female guest and/or Crowe.”
“Guests report after this threat was made, they saw Crowe struggle with Banks to prevent Banks from using the glass she picked up, seemingly to carry out her threat,” the documents continue. “It was then that Crowe escorted Banks out of the room. concludes a tier of fact would find the physical escort out of the room was justified to prevent the imminent violence threatened by Banks.”
The reports correspond with those made by RZA in a Facebook post on Oct. 20, where he explained he flew the “212” rapper out to Los Angeles for work and invited her to Crowe’s party where she began acting erratically.
“Before the night is over Azealia is insulting half the room she becomes loud and obnoxious,” RZA wrote in the post. “Azealia threaten (sic) to cut a girl in the face with a glass, then actually grabs a glass and physically attacks for no logical reason. Russell blocked the attack and expelled her from the suite.”
And a source close to the situation previously told PEOPLE that Crowe never called Banks the N-word.
“Per all of the witnesses, her erratic behavior and abusive language scared everyone there,” the source said. “No one called her the N-word. She was yelling the N-word at everyone else.”
RELATED VIDEO: RZA Defends Russell Crowe, Slams Azealia Banks’ Claims in Facebook Post
“Russell behaved like a hero,” the source continued. “He acted in defense of his guests and removed her from his suite by putting her in a bear hug and picking her up.”
As for the spitting, the D.A. concluded it would be inappropriate to hold Crowe criminally accountable for the “minor battery of spitting on Banks’ gloved hand” as “it was incidental to preventing more serious threatened violence.”
They added that “a witness at the door states the saliva did not make contact with Banks.”
In an exclusive statement to PEOPLE, Banks previously said she is prepared to forgive Crowe “in order to heal,” but chose to file a police report about the incident “due to Russell’s lack of remorse and compassion.”
“I want him to take accountability for his actions,” Banks said. “I believe that Russell is a damaged man and I hope the prospect of legal action will force him to seek help in overcoming his personal demons.”
Banks has found herself at odds with stars like Zayn Malik, Sarah Palin and Disney Channel actress Skai Jackson in the past. Crowe is no stranger to controversy either. Crowe was arrested in 2005 after striking a desk clerk with a phone.
