Grammy-winning rap performer Cardi B, best known for her hit records “Taki Taki” and “WAP,” has been acquitted by a California jury after a security guard accused her of assault back in 2018.
The jury’s unanimous verdict came after just an hour of deliberation, ending a civil trial in which Emani Ellis sought USD24 million in damages over the alleged altercation, while Cardi B was secretly pregnant with her first child.
Plaintiff claims scratches, spit, slurs during altercation
Ellis alleged that the performer, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, cut her cheek with her acrylic fingernail, spat on her and shouted slurs outside a Beverly Hills obstetrician’s office.
She said the incident left her “traumatised,” cost her a job and required cosmetic surgery to address a facial scar.
Ellis also testified that Cardi B caused a disturbance in the building and was asked to leave, claiming that she was aggressive and that the argument escalated into a physical confrontation.
But Cardi B denied ever touching her, stating that she “feared for her unborn baby.”
“She couldn’t get a scratch from me because I didn’t touch her,” she told the court.
The performer then said that the altercation began when Ellis followed her and attempted to record a video of her going to the obstetrician, fearing that the security guard would out her pregnancy, as it was not yet public knowledge at the time.
When asked by Ron Rosen Janfaza, the lawyer of Ellis, if Cardi was angry, she replied: “Yes, I was angry! Because I’m pregnant! And this girl’s about to beat my a**!”
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Witness testimony bolsters Cardi’s defence
Cardi B’s case was strengthened by testimony from staff at the medical office.
The receptionist, Tierra Malcolm, told the jury she intervened between the two women and did not see the rapper make physical contact.
Instead, Malcolm said Ellis was swinging her arms during the shouting match and appeared to be the aggressor. Malcolm herself ended up with a cut to the head while stepping in to break them apart.
Much of the trial was also focused on her acrylic nails, which Cardi B testified as “coffin-shaped with rounded tips” and “weren’t sharp,” making it unlikely they could cause the kind of injury Ellis described.
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The jury’s verdict
During the trial, which aired on Court TV and spread through viral online clips, Cardi B testified that the lawsuit was an attempt by Ellis to secure a payout, pointing to the $24 million compensation.
Eventually, the jurors acquitted the rapper after Ellis could not convincingly prove her claims.
Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse in Alhambra, Cardi B said she would fight any similar lawsuits more aggressively in the future.
“The next person to try to do a frivolous lawsuit against me, I’m going [to] countersue, and you’re going to pay,” she said. “I’m not that celeb that you’re going to sue and I’m going to settle… I work hard for my money.”
She also urged her fans not to harass Ellis following the verdict.
Ellis, meanwhile, said she was “not at all” sorry for bringing the case.
“I don’t want it to be overlooked. I don’t want it to be something that’s brushed under the rug,” she told reporters after the verdict. “What she did to me was real.”
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Sarah Sharp 
Anna Ferraz