Fat Joe recalls a friend questioning the nature of his relationship with Ashanti after jumping to her defense

Fat Joe is standing 10 toes down when it comes to defending his sister Ashanti!

On Wednesday (Nov. 9), the “What’s Luv” emcee appeared on Jada Pinkett Smith’s “Red Table Talk” and opened up about a reaction from a friend following his decision to take up for the R&B superstar earlier this summer. “I’m the brother that looks out for the sisters, but somebody had asked me, ‘Yo, why’d you jump out and defend Ashanti like that?'” he explained. Furthermore, he says the same person questioned whether the two had ever been romantically involved. “This was like blasphemy or some s**t, right?” Fat Joe continued. “‘Cause she’s been my sister for 20-something years. And Irv [is] my brother… I love him… I’m not trying to disrespect Irv. I’m talking about the situation.”

He added, “When somebody I considered one of my brothers was like, ‘Yo, you f**kin’ her?'” His response was, “Are you crazy? That’s my sister.” The “Lean Back” rapper said once he began to dive into his friendship with the R&B singer, the tone of the conversation switched gears. “I noticed that when I started telling him that that’s my sister, his whole face calmed down and [he] said, ‘Wow, she really is your sister.'”

As previously reported by REVOLT, Fat Joe quickly chimed in on Ashanti’s behalf after Irv Gotti made claims of an alleged relationship with her during an appearance on “Drink Champs” back in August. “Ya’ll can @ Irv Gotti, Ja whatever the f**k you want,” said the Bronx native during an Instagram Live at the time. “Whatever he has with Ashanti is 20 years old, right? I know he was making some points that mean a lot to him. But when you keep ranting about somebody 20 years later, it feels like he’s not over the young lady right?”

Check out the clip from Fat Joe’s “Red Table Talk” episode below.