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"American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe has denied that Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj&amp;#039;s feud is a publicity stunt. Leaked video footage earlier this month showed Minaj screaming at Carey at an American Idol audition in Charlotte, North Carolina.   Carey has since suggested that Minaj threatened to &amp;quot;shoot&amp;quot; her during the dispute, a claim which the &amp;#039;Starships&amp;#039; singer vehemently denied. Producer Lythgoe has now responded to rumors that the entire altercation was staged to attract media attention for American Idol&amp;#039;s auditions. &amp;quot;I have no idea why I would be doing it [for ratings] five months before the show went out,&amp;quot; Lythgoe told TMZ. He continued: &amp;quot;I would only do anything for ratings a month before the show went out. They&amp;#039;ve got my timing wrong.&amp;quot;  US President Barack Obama spoke about the controversy this week, urging both Carey and Minaj to work through their problems. &amp;quot;I am all about bringing people together, working for the same cause. I think both outstanding artists are going to be able to make sure that they&amp;#039;re moving forward and not going backward,&amp;quot; Obama said. American Idol airs on Fox in January. Watch the American Idol argument below:      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/american-idol/news/a431678/idol-nigel-lythgoe-nicki-minaj-mariah-carey-feud-not-for-ratings/>