Stevie Nicks Apologizes to Nicki Minaj for Saying She 'Would Have Killed Her'

Stevie Nicks regrets her rant against Nicki Minaj for allegedly threatening Mariah Carey on the set of American Idol.

If you haven't heard about Nicks' tirade, and are perhaps stupefied as to why the Fleetwood Mac icon would esconce herself in the middle of an alleged super-diva feud, then here's some background: when pressed for her opinion on the much-hyped rivalry between the newly minted Idol judges, Nicks publicly sided with Carey, a fellow music industry veteran.

"How dare this little girl! … If I had been Mariah I would have walked over to Nicki and strangled her to death right there," Nicks told The Daily as she was promoting her new documentary, In Your Dreams.

Nicks, who charmed Idol finalists this past season as a guest mentor (with a barely-concealed crush on Phillip Phillips), was responding to Minaj's remarks that she would have shot Carey over a contestant disagreement.

STORY: Nicki Minaj vs. Mariah Carey: 'It's All for Show,' Says 'American Idol' Source

"I would have killed her in front of all those people and had to go to jail for it," said the "Landslide" songstress, in an unexpected departure from her laid-back, New Age-y persona, of the "Starships" singer-rapper-provocateur.

(Speechless? So were we.)

Hours after her words hit the blogosphere, another headling-generating footnote in the bizarre Minaj-Carey beef that could just as well be a PR stunt (like Nigel Lythgoe would admit to fueling the fire), Nicks issued a genuine-seeming mea culpa.

"I want to apologize for my remarks about Nicki Minaj’s behavior toward Mariah Carey which I said during a long and exhausting day of interviews," she said Tuesday in a statement to THR. "It was very out of character for me and I deeply regret what I said. I feel very protective toward Mariah Carey who has gone through many difficulties in her life and I spoke without thinking. I think all artists should be respectful toward one another and that includes me. I am truly sorry.”  

No word from Team Nicki as of yet.

Idol-Worshippers, was Nicks wrong to open her mouth? Should Minaj forgive her? Do you think the Nick-Mariah feud is fake?

Twitter: @ErinLCarlson

Email: erin.carlson@thr.com