Coi Leray publicly addressed the ongoing dispute with her father, Benzino, regarding her claims about experiencing hardships in her youth.
On Tuesday (Nov. 14) night, the rapper took to Instagram Live to counter his denial of her past struggles, including having to sell drugs and sleep in cars. Leray accused Benzino of creating unnecessary drama and using her for clout. “I watch him go online and just create craziness for no reason, make up things, try to make it seem like I’m… It just has to stop,” she said.
Leray continued, “It just seems like every single time, instead of you congratulating me and being happy for me, you want to go online and try to use me to prove yourself to these people and this industry on why you feel like you didn’t get the respect or whatever it is that you deserve. I don’t want to be your clout kid.”
She further refuted Benzino‘s implications that she lied about her difficult past during a recent interview on Angie Martinez’s “IRL Podcast.” “I don’t have to get on here and lie about struggle. I don’t think anybody wants to do that. But, yeah, I think that’s corny. I have a mugshot,” the New Jersey artist stated. “Ask my mom. We don’t even want to put my other family in this ’cause I think that’s kind of not what I’m here for.”
Leray concluded by expressing a desire to keep their issues private. “I don’t have to speak on this ever again. He made it very clear that he never wants to speak to me again. Again, the interview was done in June. I haven’t said anything since,” she explained. “But, respectfully, I wish that we could kind of just keep everything offline moving forward. I’d rather you just do that on a respectful level of just me being your daughter at the end of the day. We don’t gotta have a relationship.”
This public disagreement followed Benzino’s initial response to Leray’s interview with Martinez. The rapper suggested his difficulty in handling her success might stem from envy. In a series of online posts, The Source co-founder strongly denied being envious of his daughter and criticized her for portraying a false narrative about him.
On a brighter note, Leray’s “Players” was nominated at the 2024 Grammy Awards. It’s vying for Best Rap Performance, which also includes Drake and 21 Savage’s “Rich Flex,” among others.