Ja Rule Gets Into Heated Argument With Tony Yayo on Plane, Video Shows

Ja Rule is setting the record straight after he and Tony Yayo turned a routine cross-country flight into a tense mid-air showdown that was captured on video.

Check out Ja's tweets about the ordeal after TMZ contacted him for comment -- he said he "popped on these punks" and threw a pillow at Yayo's head because he's "soft." He had no regrets about the snafu ... calling it "hilarious."

TMZ obtained exclusive video capturing the heated verbal dispute aboard a Delta flight from San Francisco to New York City Sunday morning, where things boiled over between the two guys shortly after boarding.

Ja Rule, who was seated ahead of Tony and a friend, kicked things off with a comment about them as passengers while they were settling into their seats. That comment quickly escalated into a verbal argument.

In the video, raised voices can be heard, with Ja Rule appearing to shout back toward Tony's row as nearby passengers turn and react to the disturbance. The video captures the argument already in full swing, underscoring just how heated the exchange had become.

Ja Rule was yelling profanities, repeatedly saying he wanted to fight, and at one point threw a pillow back toward Tony, we're told.

That's when the flight crew stepped in. Witnesses on the plane tell us both men were pulled off the plane briefly while the situation was addressed. During the confrontation, Tony yelled back that airplanes are "federal offense territory" and insisted he hadn't done anything wrong.

A Delta spokesperson tells TMZ ... two customers were spoken to by the cabin crew following a disagreement, and one customer was rebooked on a later flight. The spokesperson added the flight continued to JFK and landed without issue.

It's still unclear which rapper was rebooked but one thing's clear -- tensions were flying long before the plane ever took off.

Ja Rule tells TMZ … "These f***ing clowns… 🤡 🤣" ... "I saw them when I got on I was laughing like look at these two clowns lol they look like they saw a ghost deer in the headlights they always talking s*** so I addressed them lol"