AllHipHop.com: Can you just talk honestly about this lawsuit filed?
Benzino: Oh definitely, yes, the lawsuit was like—usually when people get fired sometimes, especially this magazine there’s been walkouts and again, journalist people, they’re a real crazy bunch of people.
AllHipHop.com: [Laughs]
Benzino: But um, basically Kim Osorio, we had let go, we had terminated a man for her to get that job. So now that we terminated her for a man, she’s screaming sexual discrimination. What we’re gonna do is counter sue her because that’s totally false because especially when we have record of—we have proof of her having many sexual relations with a lot of the artists that she was actually interviewing a lot. And we will counter sue her for defamation of character and then after that, we’ll just let the courts decide it.
AllHipHop.com: Wait, what does her relations have to do with this
lawsuit?
Benzino: I’m saying, I’m saying like we will counter sue her for
defamation of character because her holding that position of Editor and Chief and having sexual relations and definitely her conduct as how she treated this magazine when she was here, that’s definitely gonna have something to do with her lawsuit.
AllHipHop.com: So Dave Mays said that she was—so you’re basically
saying that she had relations with some high-profile rappers.
Benzino: Oh definitely. [Laughs]. Wouldn’t you like to know who,
Clover? [Laughs]
AllHipHop.com: I would like to know [Laughs]
Benzino: Nah, nah. That all has to come out in court.
AllHipHop.com: Okay, she said she was fired from the company—
Benzino: Exactly, she was fired.
AllHipHop.com: [finishes] after she complained. But you said that she didn’t—
Benzino: We didn’t like the way she was doing her job in like the last year and we just decided to let her go. We let a lot of people go. We cleaned house with a lot of these people.
AllHipHop.com: And you and Dave Mays said that you requested that she repeal her complaint?
Benzino: Yeah, definitely. We said yes, you know, Kim, you’re just
like—she made a complaint and we said like what is this based on. We had a little conversation and we asked her that, you know, basically she tried to extort us to be like if you keep me on, I’ll—if you promise not to fire me or get some time of contract, then I’ll take the complaint away. But that’s the first complaint she’s ever done, so isn’t kind of peculiar that she made the complaint when she know she was gonna get fired, Clover. That’s the first complaint we’ve ever had from her since she’s been the top person at The Source magazine. Doesn’t that sound real peculiar?
AllHipHop.com: I don’t know.
Benzino: You don’t know, come on—are you a hater, Clover? Don’t tell me you’re a hater, Clover.
AllHipHop.com: Nah I’m neutral.
Benzino: Ah, don’t say—’cause Clover that’s obvious, like she filed one complaint since she’s been up there when she found out that she was gonna get fired. That doesn’t sound peculiar, like that’s—come on, Clover.
AllHipHop.com: Are you trying to say that both of these women’s claims are illegitimate?
Benzino: The other woman didn’t even do nothing around here. She faked that she was having breast cancer so that we wouldn’t fire her. These people were getting big salaries. They can’t get these big salaries no where else. They were doing a weak job. It’s our magazine and we fired them. I have the right too.
AllHipHop.com: And why would they lie about, like why would they—
Benzino: Clover, you’re gonna have to find that out. It doesn’t—but you know what, it doesn’t matter. Does it matter? Whose company is it?
AllHipHop.com: Mmhm.
Benzino: Do you own AllHipHop?
AllHipHop.com: Nope.
Benzino: If you got fired would it really matter what you say about
who’s this or whatever—or like if they fired you today, would it matter?
AllHipHop.com: Would what matter?
Benzino: Would it matter like what your opinion is. Like how many
people do you know who are gonna be happy when they get fired.
AllHipHop.com: [Laughs] everybody.
Benzino: Okay, then so then you just answered your own question then.
AllHipHop.com: Well I don’t know why—
Benzino: It’s okay, just keep it moving. I don’t mind that, Clover. Zino and The Source ain’t going nowhere. We’re gonna stomp out the competition. It is what it is.
AllHipHop.com: Okay, where did your relationship with these two women stand before these accusations arose? Were you on speaking terms?
Benzino: Yeah, say hi and keep it moving. We was on speaking terms, business. I’m the boss, like what any boss at a business would do. We had a business relationship.
AllHipHop.com: Okay. So some people might see you as, okay I don’t know the best way to put it, but a lot of people hate you obviously.
Benzino: No, no a lot of people don’t hate me. Clover, you gotta get
out that Internet world Clover. Come out to the real world, Clover.
Come outside, go to a club, Clover. Go chill out at a club, go dance in
a club. Go chill out, go look at what real life is and real things are
because if you’re up there in front of that computer all day you might
be getting a little bit cross-eyed. You might be losing touch with
reality.
AllHipHop.com: Actually, I get out and I hear—this is what I hear from people that are not on the Internet—
Benzino: Again the Internet. The Internet is a miniscule bunch of
people. There’s only like—I’m looking at AllHipHop now, there’s 162
people on [the message boards] —that’s so—like, come on man, Clover. Like these people are the people I’m talking about. They’re not out there in the streets
going to the—they’re not doing that, man. They’d rather be nonchalant, no one can know who they are and hate and spew hate and negative opinions about people. I can handle that, but Clover if I’m so hated I wouldn’t be, I wouldn’t be like—like, I’m loved all across the country. Like Miami, New York, I go cross country now. Don’t get it twisted because your little minute Internet world thinks that that’s hate for Zino.
AllHipHop.com: I’m just saying, when you go against somebody like
Eminem, then that’s going to come up because a lot of people like
Eminem.
Benzino: A lot of people like Eminem. Eminem’s a racist. Eminem’s a
racist, Clover.
AllHipHop.com: According to you.
Benzino: Eminem’s a racist, Clover. What do you mean according to me? He said “ni**er” on a tape. He called Black women b**ches. What do you mean according to me. They pulled out of the lawsuit. Clover, your man Eminem was about to be—his pants was about to be pulled down about his lies and everything. That’s why they pulled out.