Belcalis Almanzar, better known by her stage name, Cardi B, is known for being one of the top female rappers in the industry, not for recklessly attacking people indiscriminately. But what even happened in the first place?
In 2018, a security guard named Emani Ellis accused Cardi B of assault and battery at an obstetrician’s office. Ellis alleged that the rapper cut her cheek with a long fingernail, spat on her, and used racial slurs against her outside the obstetrician’s office, to which Cardi B had denied this from ever happening. While the lawsuit took place because it was an alleged physical altercation, the artist replied that it was only a verbal disagreement.
The rapper was around four months pregnant at the time, which wasn’t public knowledge. The lawsuit was filed in 2020, but then the trial came into fruition in August of this year, more than seven years after the actual incident took place. Ellis was suing for assault and battery, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false imprisonment.
While Cardi B had a trial earlier in 2018, this was unrelated to that. True, this lawsuit was filed in 2018, but Cardi B had a strip club altercation earlier that year. Even though they were placed in the same year, both lawsuits are unrelated and entirely different.
During the trial, Cardi B had told the jury multiple times how she was innocent, and insisted to the media and in court that she “did not touch that woman”. She maintained her innocence throughout the trial, where she said to the paparazzi, “I swear to God I am innocent!”
Celebrity trials often go viral on social media, with court cases such as YNW Melly and his lawyer snickering in court at listening to the lyrics of his song, “Murder on My Mind”. With celebrity trials and lawsuits, moments like these often spread faster than court transcripts themselves.
Through Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other social media platforms, Cardi B’s appearances on the stand have become increasingly comical and viral. From describing how the plaintiff is, her weight specifically, to the colorful language she displays on the stand. The plaintiff’s lawyer was known to be asking questions not related to the trial, relating to her nails and her hair, laughing and smiling at the lawyer, replying with, “They’re wigs.” Another instance of the colorful language Cardi B displayed while in court was when she was asked to describe the plaintiff to the judges out loud. Cardi B replied with, “She looks like she could protect the building.”
On September 2nd, the jury deliberated for approximately one hour before concluding that Cardi B is not liable for assault and battery. “The next person to do a frivolous lawsuit against me, I’m going to countersuit, and I’m going to make you pay because this is not okay,” she said to the press following the case’s conclusion. She continued to say how she missed out on her children’s last as well as first day of school, and that she won’t miss memorable moments like that again.
The rapper has also reached out to her fans online, asking them to leave Ellis alone. “I hope that this is something that I leave behind, that she can leave behind. Don’t go bother her. Don’t be talking about her, don’t be talking about how she looks, don’t be calling her no nasty names. Let’s just put this behind.”
From what readers should take from this court case, no matter the conflict, it should be to hold no grudges. It’s the truth that we might not like some people on this Earth, but life is too short to hold any grudges against anyone.
