Hip-Hop Stars evolved into a parking lot donnybrook

MEMPHIS TN (IFS)--The BET Awards Show at one time was a wonderful venue to go too. Now its just a haven for gangstas and thugs. An award show for promoting bad behavior. Viacom wants to get the ratings up and they condone this. Gone are the days of honoring artists and talent. It's just a run-down ghetto experience that has left a bad element in charge of ruining the show. It's time that Viacom abandons all hope and let this sinking ship drop to the bottom of the ocean.

A feud between two hip-hop stars evolved into a parking lot donnybrook that temporarily halted production on the BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta Saturday night, according to various stories appearing on Sunday morning.

The origin of the alleged “beef” between rappersRick Ross and Young Jeezy (and members of their respective entourages) was not specified in the stories, such as this one on THR.com, the Hollywood Reporter Web site.

But whatever the feud was about, the two stars reportedly exchanged words backstage during the taping of the awards telecast (scheduled to air Oct. 9 on BET). The confrontation apparently moved outdoors and at least one witness said shots were fired.

“Beef just spread to the parking lot!!!” read one of the Tweets posted by the alleged witness, who appeared to be the New York radio personality known as Funkmaster Flex. There was at least one arrest, according to the witness, whose tweets are quoted in the THR story. Neither Ross nor Jeezy were arrested.

However, while production was halted for a time, the show did eventually continue, and Ross even performed, the THR story said.

The feud between the two Def Jam artists reportedly came to blows -- and possibly gunfire -- during the taping of the show in Atlanta. TMZ on Sunday posted video that shows the chaos backstage, with security guards stepping in to break up the fight. Ross, who is shirtless, is seen yelling and then being escorted away. Security intervenes as the person Ross is yelling at tries to follow. (Watch the video below.) Ross and Young Jeezy were once collaborators, but have been involved in a feud for the past several years. Saturday's confrontation between the men's entourages escalated from words to "pushing and shoving," reported HipHop Dx, citing on-the-scene tweets from HOT 97's Funkmaster Flex. Complex reported that the fight moved to the parking lot, with the sound of gunshots and a police arrest of a gunman following. Machine Gun Kelly tweeted he was injured in the fracas: "Got mase in my eyes. That beef shit just got real outside." The awards show taping was reportedly put on pause and the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center was locked down. The awards resumed soon after, and Ross is said to have made an appearance onstage to perform "Hold Me Back" and "Ice Cold." It's unclear whether this happened before or after the alleged brawl, though multiple people claiming to be at the show have tweeted Ross appeared after. TMZ reported that an Atlanta Police Department spokesperson confirmed there was a fight, but said no arrests were made. Footage of a fight between MMG's Gunplay and G-Unit's camp has also surfaced. Gunplay told Power 105.1 that those he was fighting against, outside of the award show, was mostly security. BET later issued a statement that read: "BET Networks works very hard to bring the best in entertainment to the city of Atlanta. For the past seven years BET has celebrated the true art form of Hip Hop. Due to some misjudgment of select attendees, it is unfortunate that certain incidents took place. BET Networks does not condone any type of violence. Local authorities are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible." The 2012 BET Hip-Hop Awards air Oct. 9.