A Los Angeles jury has cleared Cardi B of assault accusations from a security guard that originally sued her for $24 million over the alleged attack, Rolling Stone reports.
After the verdict was announced, Cardi spoke to press outside of the courthouse and said it’s been “really tough” to deal with the case in the middle of her album rollout, adding that she missed her kids’ first day of school on Tuesday.
“The next person to try to do a frivolous lawsuit against me, I’m going to counter sue and I’m going to make you pay, because this is not okay,” she said, adding, “people have this misinterpretation of celebrities, like, ‘Oh, well, we can ask for this, and they’re going to settle…’ Don’t you ever think that you’re going to sue me and I’m just going to settle and just give you my money. It’s not going to happen.”
Emani Ellis alleged that the Grammy-winning rapper cut her face with her fingernail outside an obstetrician’s office in 2018. The trial sparked national attention and generated numerous viral memes, thanks to Cardi’s behavior during the proceedings, including, but not limited to, her fiery one-liners and bold fashion choices both on the stand and outside the courthouse.
Cardi claimed Ellis followed and filmed her in the doctor’s office without her permission, leading the pair to get into a heated “debate,” as she described it. The rapper was pregnant at the time.
In her original complaint, Ellis accused Cardi of attacking her, spitting on her and using “racial slurs” against her. She also claimed the alleged altercation and Cardi’s “celebrity status” got her fired. As the trial started last week, Ellis’ lawyer, Ron Rosen Janfaza, confirmed his client had dropped the claims relating to her being fired.
Janfaza also said Ellis had stopped demanding the $24 million and was seeking compensation for her medical expenses along with $250,000.
“She was abused. She was harmed. She was assaulted and battered by Cardi B, and Cardi B needs to pay for that,” Janfaza reportedly said in court on Tuesday.
While on the witness stand, Ellis said she called out Cardi’s name upon seeing her in the doctor’s office that day. She claimed she was not talking to anyone on the phone and that she never recorded Cardi.
“[Cardi] was extremely upset,” Ellis testified, according to a report from Rolling Stone. “She put her finger in my face. I was deeply traumatized about what happened.”
On Cardi’s part, she accused Ellis of “invading” her privacy. “Now, we’re like chest to chest,” she said. “I’m thinking to myself, this girl is big. She’s got big black boots on. I’m like, damn, what the hell am I going to do now? She’s literally right in my face, like, on my chest, and we’re arguing, I’m telling her to back up. And she’s not backing up.”
Cardi told the jury their back-and-forth developed into a shouting match where she used explicit language. “Bitch, get the fuck out of my face,” she recalled saying. Still, Cardi was adamant that the “verbal altercation” did not lead to any physical contact. “She didn’t hit me. I didn’t hit her. There was no touch,” she said on the stand.
Cardi is set to release her sophomore album, “Am I the Drama?,” on Sept. 19.
