Actor Russell Crowe remained the cool-headed one in hotel incident with Azealia Banks, by all reports.

Actor Russell Crowe's civil evening of dinner and music with 10 guests in a Beverly Hills hotel was reportedly up-ended by boisterous rapper Azealia Banks, who threatened the host and a female guest.

The 25-year-old hip-hop star was not formally invited but went as a guest of rapper RZA.

The musician hit headlines when she allegedly posted on her Facebook page that she had been assaulted by the New Zealand-born actor and attacked with racial slurs including being called a "n.....".

GETTY IMAGES Azealia Banks has accused Russell Crowe of assaulting her.

However, sources have told TMZ.com that the situation actually unfolded very differently, and that it was Crowe who was the victim of the attack.

According to the website, Banks was taken to Crowe's room at a hotel in Beverly Hills by RZA, of Wu-Tang Clan fame, who had been invited to dinner by the Gladiator star.

While things began well, they are said to have taken a turn for the worse when Banks reportedly criticised the music Crowe put on, laughing at the tunes and calling the actor and one of his guests "boring white men".

The outlet cites "multiple witnesses" as saying that when a female guest stepped forward to come to Crowe's defence and encourage Banks to cease her antagonistic remarks, the 212 singer launched into another attack on the actor and the unidentified woman.

Sources told TMZ.com that Banks said: "You would love it if I broke my glass, stabbed you guys in the throat, and blood would squirt everywhere like some real Tarantino s... ."

She was said to have peppered her speech with "n.....", before apparently reaching for her glass.

At this point, Crowe was said to have taken the situation into his own hands, grabbing the musician in a "bear hug" and "carrying her out of the suite".

He then reportedly called the in-house hotel security guards to remove Banks from the premises.

An investigation followed, TMZ reported, during which at least four of the guests and witnesses at the dinner gave statements describing Banks's behaviour as "erratic".

Banks posted a different breakdown of events when she told her friends on Facebook that Crowe had choked her, thrown her out, spit on her and called her a "n.....".

However, TMZ alleged that even RZA, who recently signed Banks to his record label, was aware that it was she who used the racial slur - not Crowe.

A spokesperson for Crowe declined to comment on the situation when contacted by Billboard.com, while Banks' original post on Facebook has now been deleted.