Mariah Carey Denies Nicki Minaj Beef Over 'American Idol'

Take it from Mariah Carey, Kids: hatin' is bad.

Maybe it's not exactly being "quick" to set the record straight, but the highly paid new "American Idol" judge has busted out the "TruFax" hammer, Perez Hilton reports it's rumor-squashing time. The alpha diva of "Idol" denies having any problem at all with likely fellow judging newbie Nicki Minaj.

"What tension? There's no tension!" Perez Hilton reports Carey said.

Allegedly, when FOX executives contacted Carey to inform her that the eccentric rapper was all but certified to judge the upcoming 12th season alongside the record-nuking star, Carey hung up the call. Carey signed a reported $18-million, single-season deal to judge this season and was convinced she would be the sole marquee female star on the panel. Before she could even be seriously considered, FOX executives and "Idol" producers had to work through potential conflicts of interest between "Idol"-sponsoring Coca-Cola and Minaj-endorsed Pepsi.

With that hurdle cleared, it now appears Carey and Minaj will be judging the upcoming season alongside Australian country star Keith Urban and most likely a fourth, not-yet-determined judge. Longtime original judge Randy Jackson has stepped back off the panel this coming season to step into an off-camera mentorship role.

Curiously enough, neither the signing of Minaj nor Urban has been made official by anybody without any clout yet. Did we mention that auditions start in a scant few weeks?

"Naturally ... Why not?" Carey reportedly answered when asked if she was up to weeding out the best of the best. Hilton even claims Carey doesn't doubt she could handle the gig all by her lonesome.