Barack Obama plays peacemaker between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey

US president says he is confident warring American Idol judges will 'sort it out' – though he prefers Minaj

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Mariah Carey, Keith Urban and Nicki Minaj
Ratings fuel ... American Idol judges Mariah Carey (left), Keith Urban and Nicki Minaj. Photograph: Michael Becker/AP

Barack Obama has weighed in on the alleged feud between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey on the set of the TV show American Idol, divulging that he thinks they will "sort it out". With Americans heading to the polls in less than a month, the president expressed his belief in hope and reconciliation for pop stars as well as ordinary Americans.

"I'm all about bringing people together, working for the same cause," Obama said in an interview with Y100 radio, in Miami (via the Wrap). "I think that they are going to be able to sort it out. I am confident."

Carey and Minaj are judges on the new series of American Idol, which is currently in production. Earlier this month, footage appeared online showing the two in a fierce row. "I'm not fucking putting up with her fucking highness over there," Minaj is alleged to have said. Carey later told the TV presenter Barbara Walters that Minaj had threatened to shoot her, and the rapper unleashed a flurry of taunting tweets.

Carey's husband, Nick Cannon, has criticised American Idol's showrunners for using the dust-up to fuel ratings. "To make it about something it's not kind of shows that the producers, and the network, are losing their foot a little bit," he told Access Hollywood. "It's taking away from the quality of what Idol is all about." Cee Lo Green, a judge on Idol rival The Voice, has suggested the enmity has been faked.

As for Obama, he seems optimistic that Minaj and Carey will end up on top. "I think both outstanding artists are going to be able to make sure that they're moving forward and not going backwards," he said. Nevertheless, Minaj is his favourite. "She's actually done some [campaign] events for us," he said. "I've got [Nicki] on my iPod."

American Idol's 12th series, the first with Carey, Minaj and country singer Keith Urban as judges, premieres in January.

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