Ari Lennox Drags Joe Budden, Again, For Mentioning Her Name

Ari Lennox has a bone to pick with Joe Budden, again. 

The “Shea Butter Baby” songstress took to her Instagram Story on April 10 to scold the infamous podcaster after he mentioned her name on Tuesday’s episode of the Joe Budden Podcast. 

Lennox, 33, didn’t appreciate Budden likening her music to “earthy college campus…shit” during a conversation about J. Cole’s recent apology to Kendrick Lamar.

Out of retaliation, the “Pressure” singer shared a clip of Budden being punched in the head by rapper Consequence, an altercation that was filmed during the Love and Hip-Hop: New York reunion in 2013. The clip was shared to her Instagram Story over 20 times.

She followed up with a fair warning for the “Pump It Up” rapper.

“Knocked your little glasses off and everything. Keep my precious name out of your psychotic, animal-abusing, women-terrorizing, demonic trolling, nicotine-encased mouth. All this meth smoke for a woman but not for any man beating your ass in real life. Bald bitch!” Lennox penned.

It remains unclear why Budden brought up Lennox during his tirade about J. Cole’s highly discussed apology to Kendrick for his “7 Minute Drill” diss track directed at the California emcee. Nevertheless, the former rapper evidently touched a nerve with the R&B artist.

Budden criticized J. Cole’s fiery bars on the viral diss record, calling them weak and subpar. Oddly, he used Lennox to illustrate his argument.

“I don’t want to hear no more about that record,” the 43-year-old star said at the 20:44 mark of the show. “It sounded like he didn’t mean it. His voice was trembling like he didn’t mean it. His choice of words as one of the greatest lyricists says he didn’t mean it.”

Budden continued, “I don’t want to hear a fucking peep out of Earthstone Twitter … Cole is on that— Y’all think I’d be playing with the Ari Lennox, Scottie… They do all that earthy college campus, grass root shit. If you listen to [J. Cole’s] raps, he’s just been trying to be the best rapper, the best MC. But it’s been, you got to listen to the nigga’s story. It’s been college life.”

This isn’t the first time that Lennox and Budden have been at odds.

In January, the “Up Late” singer took to Instagram to clap back at the rapper-turned-podcaster after he criticized her for speaking out about her terrible experience touring with Rod Wave in 2023. Lennox claimed that the former State of the Culture host was “obsessed” with her.

“He’s weird and he’s gross, he has smoke mouth,” the R&B crooner told fans over Instagram Live in January. “He’s disgusting. And he’s a failure, like Drake said. Like, leave the dogs alone, Joe…I can never just express what’s going on with me without him coming from behind the trash, the landfill that he lives in, to say something.”

In the end, Budden extended an apology for his remarks but couldn’t resist taking another swipe at the R&B sensation in the process.

“In an industry that historically has not been great to women, now is not the time for any woman out there to feel like they are under attack, unheard, or not seen, and if I have ever added that, I want to do my best to change the trajectory. So, shoutout to Ari Lennox,” he said. 

Budden then proceeded to accuse Lennox of trying “to demean and defame a Black man while summoning the powers universally of Black women.” In a following episode, the controversial podcaster referred to the Washington, D.C., native as “a bag of fuckin’ mixed nuts.”

He added, “This bitch is all the nuts combined and I think she’s done a great job of proving the exact point that I was trying to make in the last broadcast, and we shower her with love.”

Dang! Will these two ever make amends?

RELATED CONTENT: Ari Lennox Wonders If Being Vulnerable About ‘Wanting Love’ Has Made Her ‘Unattractive’