Earlier in the week, R&B superstars Keyshia Cole and Ashanti gave their fans what they’ve been asking for, for so long — a Verzuz! — and it was well worth the wait. The event was actually postponed twice because Ashanti got diagnosed with Coronavirus before the first one, and the spike in the virus’ cases before the second try. Luckily, the third time was a charm and the two singers’ battle was a night to remember.

Before it officially kicked off, fans had to sit and wait for over an hour, and many viral viewers not only wondered why, but worried that it was about to be canceled yet again. However, after a while, Ashanti decided to join the Verzuz stage and warm up with the fans who were watching as Cole was getting things ready on her side.

On Saturday (Jan. 23), Cole officially apologized for her tardiness. She also revealed that it was because of technical difficulties. The singer didn’t want the Verzuz to go down Teddy Riley style.

“I want to apologize for not sitting my ass in that seat. OK? Because I was there and I should’ve sat down. I should’ve just sat in the seat no matter if I felt like the visual wasn’t clear… they said my music wasn’t gonna be right or whatever it was.”

She added: “I think, more so than anything, people wanted me to sit, be present…even though they didn’t know that I was present.”

Cole’s DJ admitted on Friday (Jan. 22) that her tech issues were, indeed, the reason for her lateness. “She didn’t wanna come out ‘cause her screen was blurry,” he told 97.9 The Box. “On her end, her screen was blurry. She was there on time. I seen everything. She was there, but she didn’t wanna come out because the screen was blurry and stuff wasn’t right, you know. We couldn’t hear [Ashanti’s] side, so it was a lot of technical stuff going on there.”

Watch the artist talk about the moment below.