Having criticised Australian live music audiences for being “violent and belligerent“, US rapper Azealia Banks made headlines once again yesterday after she attacked the organisers of Splendour In The Grass, where Banks performed over the weekend.

After caustically responding to a Twitter follower who suggested the artist should be grateful for the opportunity to play in Australia, Banks took aim at the organisers of Splendour for the allegedly disrespectful nature of a blurb in their “artist book”.

“I saw that shitty blurb [you] wrote about me in the artist book. It was obviously written by some divisive white person,” Banks wrote on Twitter. “All the things you could’ve written about me you chose that. I don’t think I want to work with you all anymore.”

“Truly a waste of my fucking time,” she continued. “I don’t need to travel 24hrs to be disrespected.” Triple J have since acquired a copy of the artist book blurb that so incensed the Harlem, New York native, which appears to be a collection of her own tweets.

Image via Triple J

After tweeting at the organisers of Splendour In The Grass, Banks then fired more barbs in the direction of Brisbane radio announcer Paul Brown, writing, “This is how Australian men turn up dead. Keep fucking around bitch.”

It was a tongue-in-cheek tweet from Brown, in which he made a reference to the rapper’s reputation for playing short sets, that prompted Banks to lob criticism at Aussie punters, writing, “You guys are terrible crowds to play for. You’re violent and belligerent…”

Banks’ comments inspired Aussie rapper Ivan Ooze, who opened for Banks during her Splendour sideshows, to take to social media and distance himself from the rapper, citing disappointment with her comments about Australian music fans.

Ooze even went so far as to say he regrets opening for the 212 hit-maker. “As an up and coming artist I was very excited to support Azealia Banks, who was once one of my favourite artists,” he wrote on Facebook.

“From the shows I played with her in Sydney and Melbourne, the vibe was incredible and literally out of this world and I don’t think I have ever performed to such energetic and supportive Australian crowds.”

“I went out into the crowds after the shows and I only received thoughtful words and praise of how awesome Azealia’s show was.” However, Ooze went on to state that he doesn’t agree with Banks’ comments about Australian live music fans.

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“The comments Azaelia has made on her twitter, including death threats and homophobic slurs towards Australians shows that she is just a cyber bully and doesn’t deserve to tour this country,” he wrote.

“I am super grateful for the chance to play in front of the awesome crowds over the weekend, but I don’t support cyber bullying and I now regret supporting Azaelia Banks. She obviously just craves the bad attention and feeds off it so in the words of Lisa Simpson ‘just don’t look’.”

Triple J have reached out to Splendour In The Grass organisers for a statement on the situation surrounding Banks, but they simply offered a “no comment”. The festival’s history with the rapper goes back to 2012, when Banks played a short, 25-minute set, placing the blame on “the festival’s equipment”.

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