Cardi B has spoken out following a backlash over a clip of her telling how she drugged and robbed men when she worked as a stripper in order to “survive”.
The three-year-old footage which was shared on social media at the weekend sparked controversy, prompting the Grammy-winning rapper to try to explain the incidents.
The 26-year-old responded to the backlash in a lengthy Instagram post, writing that she did things in her past "I felt I needed to do to make a living".
She said she never claimed "to be perfect or come from a perfect world" or have a "perfect past", adding "I always speak my truth".
The video in question showed the rapper discussing her years working at gentlemen's clubs in New York.
In the footage she explained how she coaxed men back to a hotel room before drugging and robbing them.
In her Instagram statement on Tuesday, Cardi B added: "I never glorified the things I brought up in that live I never even put those things in my music because I'm not proud of it and feel a responsibility not to glorify it. I made the choices that I did at the time because I had very limited options.”
Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Almanzar, added: "I was blessed to have been able to rise from that but so many women have not. Whether or not they were poor choices at the time I did what I had to do to survive."
The post was captioned: "All I can do now is be a better me for myself my family and my future."
Cardi B made history earlier this year when she became the first solo woman to win the best rap album Grammy for her debut effort Invasion Of Privacy.
