Mess Alert: Julia Fox and Azealia Banks Are Going At It

So you saw that recent Kanye West ex Julia Fox and rapper Azealia Banks are fighting on Instagram, but you have no idea why or what started it. Well, you’ve come to the right place. The simple answer is that these are two women who were raised in Manhattan, and this kind of drama is just a day that ends in Y for a certain kind of performing-arts-adjacent New York native. The more complicated answer involves lots of Instagram stories, Kanye West, and allegations of drug use, sex work, and Coolsculpting. Let’s get into it, chronologically.

Azealia vs. Kanye

Banks has been beefing with West long before Fox entered the picture. In 2018, Banks slammed Kim Kardashian for defending West’s pro-Trump remarks. “Kanye will never be the president and you will never ever be the First Lady," she wrote on Instagram.

In 2020, Banks predicted that Kardashian would divorce West in 2026, so she was right but off by a few years.

A year later, Banks released a song called “Fuck Him All Night,” and the album art for the single featured nail art that spelled out “KANYE WEST.” Originally, the song was supposed to be titled after West, which Banks said in a Rolling Stone interview was because “Kanye trolled me a lot.” In the same interview, Banks said, “Listen to my music. Listen to the last five years of Kanye West’s music. I’m superior. I don’t have to talk about that which is beneath me. He’s been, I guess, selling sneakers and doing outrageous shit, everything but the music. When Kanye puts some music out that is important, then I guess we can have that conversation.”

For his part, West has never really commented on any of this.

Kanye Meets Julia

On January 2 of this year, West and Fox went on their first date at Carbone in Miami. As you might remember, the world seemed to crack in half at this moment. Two days later, they were in New York seeing Slave Play and going to Carbone again. Fox wrote about this whirlwind romance for Interview Magazine, and suddenly people who didn’t have the stomach for Uncut Gems knew her name.

Enter Azealia

In early January, Banks took her first shot at Fox on Instagram. “LOL Kanye snorting dog food (heroin) with this girl already,” she wrote. Banks also called Fox “a dirty junkie who was shooting up while pregnant” and said that she just had turned down a collaboration with West.

In February, Banks wrote another Instagram screed, this time responding to West’s comments about his daughter North being on TikTok against his wishes and about West himself allegedly not being invited to his daughter Chicago’s birthday party. “Was Chicago supposed to be hanging out with him and Julia’s horrible Coolsculpting while they get drunk and high so Julia can blow vape smoke in Chicago’s face,” Banks wrote. This was the same post where Banks coined the phrase “eating dirty steaks at LES dive bars.” Say what you will, but the woman has a way with words.

Julia Fights Back

After Fox and West broke up last week, Fox wrote on Instagram that she was not crying about it and actually that she was a “#1 hustler.” Banks screenshotted an article about the post, and shared it to her story, writing, “We already know the tea foolia! U came to Miami looking for sex work, same lawyer was in contact with ye and it was a weak PR stunt from the jump.” Banks also talked about Fox’s alleged drug abuse again, calling the actress a “liability” for West in his ongoing divorce proceedings.

On Tuesday, Fox apparently decided that she’d had enough and texted Banks to stop talking about her son. Fox told Banks that she intended to release a podcast recording where Banks was transphobic and claimed to be on the same level as Beyoncé and Rihanna. As expected, Banks shared a screenshot of this whole exchange on her Instagram story.

Fox then shared a different text exchange, from May 2021, where Banks had come to Fox looking for a drug dealer that could sell her Percocet and MDMA. Banks later claimed that the drugs were not for her, but for someone who was giving her “dirty Brooklyn dick.” Today, Banks further explained that the Percocet was for a man who has two rods in his spine who experiences pain when they have sex.

Banks escalated things by sharing screenshots of Fox asking her if she wanted to go be photographed by the paparazzi, and if she had any contacts that could get her a hotel suite. Banks also shared a photo that appears to be Fox with a syringe in her arm.

What Have We Learned?

Fox has since deleted all of her posts, but Banks’s are still up (except for the photo of Fox — apparently there is a line). If we come away with anything from this debacle, it should be a prayer that we never cross Azealia Banks. Should you come across her in the wild, do not tell her any of your secrets and never, never send her anything in writing. This might not even be enough. If you encounter the LaGuardia alumna anywhere around the 212, your best bet is to turn around and leave as quickly as possible.