Ja Rule appeared in court in Toronto yesterday to plead guilty to an assault in downtown nightclub last June. The Queens rapper, who could have faced jail time for causing bodily harm, was fined $1,200.

Ja has maintained that he swung at a man at the La Rouge club after being provoked by a crowd calling out "derogatory" remarks about his ongoing dispute with hip-hop superstar 50 Cent. The victim was left with a black eye.

The judge expressed regret at the comments made at the nightclub on that evening, and Ja, who arrived with his wife, apologized to the city of Toronto for the upset.

"I'm just sorry about my actions," he announced on the steps of the courthouse.

In spite of the popularity of the single "New York," Ja Rule's last album, R.U.L.E., was released in November to his lowest sales ever. The rapper has since received much attention related to the arrest of Irv Gotti, the head of Ja's label the Inc., for laundering more than $1 million in drug money through the business.