That moment when Nicki Minaj ‘went crazy’ on Devin Velez

Nicki Minaj is not about to calm down, Devin Velez, and she’s not afraid to let the world know how she thinks contestants should behave once they’re off “American Idol.�

The flamboyant judge and recently nuked contestant Velez got into a war of words, with Minaj definitely working the louder public voice online.

After first telling reporters in a Friday conference call that he was “not really unfairly� criticized for last week’s three-man “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)� group performance on the show, Velez turned it around a bit and critiqued Minaj’s treatment of the boys.

GRAPHIC: Choose the next ‘Idol’ judge

“Looking back at the video, I know where Nicki was coming from,� Velez said (via MJ’s Big Blog). “I agree with the first half of her critique, when she said that it felt like it was Hollywood week, that it was a joke, that stuff like that should not happen, that she was going to pretend that she didn’t hear it. I agree with that.

“When she went crazy — when she was like, ‘Get off the stage, blah blah blah,’ and it’s just like, ‘Whoa, Miss Minaj, I need you to calm down, please.’ We’re still human, we still have feelings. She doesn’t care sometimes. It’s all good, we still love Nicki.�

But it was not all good with Nicki, who took to Twitter that afternoon to deliver a lecture in a series of tweets.

“Lol. Be mad @ AMERICA when u get sent home. The JUDGES are the ones who FOUGHT for America to get the opp to VOTE 4 U!!! #memba?,� Minaj wrote. “America r the “potential� fans...u MUST win them over. “Saves� are [bull] and they know it. Those girls are just too good this year.�

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“Send the judges some flowers and a card. If Curtis [Finch Jr.] didn’t get SAVED, NONE of u get saved! Best male voice of the SEASON!!!!!!!!!!! #TruthTea.�

“Trust me BEW BEW. If EYE didn’t want u in that TOP, YOU wldnt have been in that TOP. Fought for ALL of you. So just simply b gracious.�

“Jennifer Hudson didn’t win!!!! Oscar winner!!! #memba??? ok. Take that exposure and let your light shine.�

So, OK, it was half lecture and half pep talk, the way we read it (and we did have to read it about six times, BEW BEW, before finally getting all of it).

Velez — who’d also suggested in an E! interview after the show that Minaj was biased on the side of the female contestants — responded, then thought the better of it, according to E! Online. He reportedly tweeted then deleted, “That moment when an adult stoops down to the 3rd grade level...LOL grow up Hun, I’ve got songs to write. :) #movingforward.�

Ouch. Too bad he didn’t keep that one posted — who knows where this feud might have gone? Where do you fall in the fight, on Team Nicki, Team Devin or Team Why Should I Care?

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PHOTOS: Celebrity portraits by The Times