Grab The Popcorn, Another TikTok Relationship Is Imploding
Earlier this month, the internet was captivated by the chaos of Brooke Schofield’s 14-part TikTok series exposing her ex, rapper Clinton Kane’s lies. Weeks later, we have a new Gen-Z relationship breakdown to obsess over, and this one’s just as juicy.
Thank you, TikTok, for always providing the goods on a snoozy news day.
The key players involved are internet personality Madeline Argy, her now ex-boyfriend, British rapper Central Cee and mega-star Ice Spice. I felt 100 years old writing that sentence, but onwards.
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Madeline and Central Cee have been dating on and off since 2022, with a brief hiatus in September 2023 and rumours of a rekindled romance over this American summer. However, when fans suspected the rapper was cheating on Madeline with his collaborator Ice Spice, Madeline was forced to take to social media to clear the air.
Image Credit: Instagram/@madelineargy
Posting four videos (that have now accumulated 160 million views) on July 13th to her 7 million TikTok followers, Madeline clarified that the pair had split up and that she was unwillingly collateral damage in her ex’s PR strategy.
“Girls, you told me to stand up so this is me standing up. Let me tell you how I did not know any of this was going to fucking happen,” she began, before launching into storytime.
@madelineargy♬ original sound – madz
“Let me take you guys back a couple months. I’m laid up in bed with Pookie and he comes to me and he’s like, ‘I have a new song to show you.’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, serenade me!’ And then he plays me his verse. I’m like… not only did you just snitch on yourself that you’re cheating, but you just told me exactly how.”
A bold fkn move if you ask me. Here are the lyrics in question:
“I’m selective with who I get with / Gyal on my phone tryna see who I slept with / She investigating, detective / Lucky for me, I deleted the message / All along, it was me and a bad bitch / But I told her it was me and my bredrin.”
Again, being 100 myself, I’m not completely sure what that means but I’m pretty sure it’s an admission of guilt. For context, the song is ‘Did It First’, with you guessed it, Ice Spice.
“So he tells me it’s just marketing and I know how the internet goes, so I just forget about it,” Madeleine continues. This is the first time she alludes to the fact that the crux of all this drama is in fact PR.
She then goes on to explain that Central Cee had told her he wanted to hire an influencer to lip sync to one of his old songs, and that he was planning on sending her a car for the clip as per her request. Madeline then learned he’d sent her his car, so that it would spark dating rumours with this woman for further publicity.
“At this point I’m starting to realise, ohhhh, this is why girls don’t date rappers!”
So true, Queen.
In the next video, she explains how she came to the realisation that her upcoming trip to Nigeria with Central Cee (two days prior to all of this happening) was “a part of his marketing scheme,” rather than the baycation she was anticipating. “So I say, I’ll still come to Nigeria based on the condition that none of the professional pictures of us get posted because I’ve just realised what is happening and I don’t want to be seen with this guy!”
She goes on to detail how lo and behold, the pair were papped and the photos were leaked. Not only were her friends “flaming” her, but her team were mad because it was the exact move they’d advised her against.
“So, you guys remember the song? I then remembered that he also gave me a release date for the song, and I’m realising that it’s only like a month and a bit away, and that this Lagos incident was not a coincidence, and I am knees-deep in this guy’s plot. I didn’t want to be seen with him for like, as long as possible before this song drops because I want to be as far away from that conversion as humanly possible.”
I am so stressed for this poor woman.
Next she tells us that she asked to have a conversation with him (so she could dump his ass), and that he insisted she wait a few weeks until the first of July. She thinks it’s a bit weird but knows he’s busy with his first ever headline shows, so being the supportive girlie she is, respects his request.
Suddenly, it’s July first and Central Cee is begging to see her that day. Insisting on it, in fact. Madeline is busy, but he calls her that night at 11pm.
“He’s like, ‘I need to see you tonight’, and I’m like why are you so desperate? And he’s like, ‘Because you need to remember that I’m a human being when you see what you’re going to see tomorrow’.” I’d personally be throwing up by this point.
“Guys, imagine you break up with your boyfriend one night, and the next day he’s posted up with Ice Spice in Chrome Hearts? I didn’t even get to break up with him and he’s already with the next girl!” she exclaims. I cannot imagine that, if i’m being honest, but it sounds shit for Madeline.
For those who also felt the need to google, Chrome Hearts is…
@musicnewsz ice spice and central cee spotted shopping together #icespice #rap #centralcee #rapper #couple #beauty #singer #artist #cute #love #rumours #celebrity ♬ KEHLANI – Jordan Adetunji
“This man has since emailed me, called me, called my mum, tried to follow my friends on Instagram, you get the gist. So it wasn’t that much of a surprise when I get a call from his team, and it’s a girl on the other end of the phone saying, ‘First and foremost, I’m a girls girl’. Cough twice if he is holding you hostage, otherwise I need you to put down the phone!”
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Madeline tells us that Central Cee’s team claims he had nothing to do with any of these marketing decisions, to which she gives no fucks about. She’s pissed off at the comments suggesting she condones his behaviour or was in on this PR strategy.
“I never agreed to this, no one told me. I don’t know about this in the way you guys thought I did, but I also haven’t watched the video yet, so if you guys wanna see a live reaction, it will be on my podcast,” she concludes, expertly plugging herself.
Here is the video in question:
And here is Madeline’s response:
Well, that was a journey.
I’m not 100% sure what to make of all of this, but I think my main takeaway from the saga is to never date a rapper.
Written by Lil Friedmann, someone who has proudly never dated a rapper. What a flex. You can follow her at @lilfriedmann on socials.
Image credit: Instagram + Punkee