A jury has cleared Cardi B of assaulting a security guard by scratching her with a three-inch fingernail after the rapper was sued for $24million ($18m).
Emani Ellis alleged the Grammy-winner, 32, cut her cheek and spat on her outside an obstetrician’s office in 2018.
The Los Angeles panel took just under an hour to clear the WAP star, real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, of the allegations of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and false imprisonment.
The civil trial at Alhambra courthouse led to a series of viral moments as Cardi B - whose new album is called Am I the Drama? - took the stand and offered colourful testimony about the incident and her fashion choices.
Her testimony went viral as she changed wigs and outfits each day of the trial.
She said Ellis followed and filmed her on a phone and wouldn’t give her space or privacy.
Outside court, she thanked her lawyers, media and fans and denied again that she had ever touched Ellis.
“Let’s just put this behind,” she said. “But I’m giving a warning: I am not that celeb you gonna sue and you think is going to settle. Especially when I am super, completely innocent.
“I know I’ve got a little reputation but I swear to god I am innocent,” she added, to laughter from reporters.
The case revolved around an obstetrician appointment Cardi B attended when she was four months pregnant with her first child. The office had closed to other patients for the day to shield her privacy as her condition was not then public knowledge.
Ellis - who lost her job after the encounter - claimed Cardi B had also scratched her face with a fake nail, which resulted in a scar that required cosmetic surgery. She testified that she had been left humiliated and traumatised.
She sought damages including medical expenses, compensation for emotional and physical suffering and lost wages, along with punitive damages.
Cardi B claimed on the stand that she was being sued for $24m but Ellis’s attorney said in closing arguments that it was up to the jury to decide a dollar amount.
Many of Cardi B’s responses during her testimony went viral, including when she described Ellis as “security-heavy”. When asked by Ellis’s attorney if she called Ellis “fat” Cardi B replied: “No. I was calling her a bitch.”
A significant chunk of time was dedicated to the rapper’s rhinestone-decorated acrylic nails.
When Cardi B was asked by Ellis’s attorney whether she was physically able to scratch someone at the time of the incident, the performer replied: “But I didn’t because I had a baby inside me.”
The attorney then asked: “Are you disabled? Yes or no?”
“At that moment, when you’re pregnant, I’m very disabled. Do you want me to tell you things I can’t do?” Cardi B said, prompting laughter in the courtroom.
The rapper denied that she or Ellis touched one another but acknowledged that their argument had become heated, recounting much of the swearing the two women had exchanged. She said while that they were chest-to-chest at one point, the fight never became physical.
“She couldn’t get a scratch from me because I didn’t touch her,” Cardi B said.
When Ellis’s attorney asked her if she had been angry, Cardi B replied: “Yes I was angry! Because I’m pregnant! And this girl’s about to f***ing beat my ass!”
Both David Finke, the doctor Cardi B was seeing on the day, and Tierra Malcolm, the office receptionist who broke up the argument, gave testimony that mostly supported Cardi B’s account, saying they had seen no physical fight.
Asked to characterise the argument, Ms Malcolm said she wasn’t sure if she could swear in court.
“We’ve heard just about everything so far, so it’s OK,” judge Ian C Fusselman said to laughter from those in court.
Outside the building, a handful of fans showed up to support Cardi B.
Christine Orozco, who lives nearby, had a hand drawn sign reading: “If the nail don’t fit, u must acquit,” a pun referencing another Los Angeles celebrity trial - that of OJ Simpson, where the gloves, not the fingernails, were a subject of debate. She said the musician read the sign and laughed.
“She had a round tip that day, not a sharp tip,” Ms Orozco said of Cardi B’s fingernails.
“She read the sign. She was squinting to see it. She laughed.”
