Is 'American Idol' Judges Feud Real or for Show? Steven Tyler, Cee Lo Green, Nick Cannon Weigh In

12:51 PM PDT 10/7/2012 by Michele Amabile Angermiller

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With the feud between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj exploding in the media last week, several celebs smell a PR stunt while Carey's husband downplays it all.

Brad Barket/PictureGroup; Mark Cant

Is the tension between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj real, or just a desperate attempt to fuel ratings for American Idol's 12th season?

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While former American Idol judge Steven Tyler told TMZ reporters that the whole feud is just for show -- "of course...are you kidding?" was his reply -- Voice coach Cee Lo Green declared the entire story was typical of Hollywood smoke and mirrors. "This is Hollywood, California. Hardly anything's legit," he told TMZ. "I think it's entertainment for everybody."

Carey's husband, Nick Cannon, blamed the media for over-hyping what he believes was a minor incident. "[It's] not a big deal at all," said the America's Got Talent host. "It's been overly sensationalized. The media feeds into it."

Cannon's concern is that the focus on the fight between Carey and Minaj will deflect from the mission of shows like Idol to discover tomorrow's next superstars. "What's important about the show is everybody wants to try out for their dreams, and young people being inspired," he said.

The Minaj-Carey drama played out last week as Barbara Walter's rang up the Grammy-Award winning singer at home prior to a live taping of The View. Carey said several hairdressers and production people overheard Minaj threaten to "shoot" the singer, which caused concern and a need for extra security. Minaj took to Twitter for the remainder of the day, expressing anger that Walters didn't ask the rapper for her side of the story, and took several jabs at Carey as well.

"Lets just say nicki said smthn about a gun. ppl will believe it cuz she's a black rapper ... Ironically no camera or mic heard the gun comment tho," she tweeted.

On Friday, the show released a statement addressing the controversial story, stating "This is one of the best, most passionate, dynamic and invested judging panels we've ever had."