Cardi B is fighting back against claims she attacked a security guard back in 2018.
The rapper is currently involved in a civil trial over allegations that she attacked a security guard inside a Beverly Hills medical building. The trial began on Monday, August 25 in Los Angeles with testimony from the accuser.
Emani Ellis accused Cardi, real name Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, of assault and battery and infliction of emotional distress in the lawsuit filed in 2020. In her complaint, she alleged that the rapper physically attacked her, cut her face with her fingernails, and spat on her at an obstetrician’s office.
A security guard for the building at the time, Ellis testified that the confrontation occurred after Cardi B–who was then pregnant with her first child–stepped out of an elevator on the fifth floor. The security guard exclaimed something along the lines of, “Wow, that’s Cardi B,” which seemingly caught the star off-guard as her pregnancy was not yet public knowledge.
That’s when Ellis alleges Cardi “got in [her] face” and accused her of using the phone she was holding to share news about the medical visit, per Entertainment Weekly.
“After she heard me say her name, she turned back around, and the first thing out her mouth was, excuse my language, ‘Why the f**k are you telling people that you seen me?’” Ellis testified.
The security guard went on to accuse the rapper of berating her, body-shaming her, and even spitting on her.
“She was like, ‘F**k you, you fat ass, I’m gonna beat your ass. I’m gonna get you fired. That’s why you do security.’ She was sticking her tongue out, flailing her arms up and down.”
During a cross-examination, Cardi’s attorney Peter J. Anderson grilled Ellis over supposed inconsistencies within the complaint versus the incident report she submitted to a supervisor, which includes the exact location of where she was cut on the face and whether she was using a phone at the time of the incident. Anderson acknowledged that a screaming match occurred, but insists Cardi never touched Ellis.
According to Rolling Stone, Anderson said the rapper “feared for her unborn baby” at the time, adding, “This is her first pregnancy, and a very large woman was advancing towards her. She was utterly confused that a security guard could be her attacker.”
When Cardi took the stand, she also denied that things got physical, but admitted to calling Ellis a “b***h” while confronting her. During her testimony, the rapper gave her side of the story, saying the security guard was invading her privacy by following and recording her inside the medical building.
“She kept telling me ‘You’re gonna leave my building.’ I’m like, ‘I’m not leaving. How are you telling me to leave? I came to see a doctor. You’re following me, you’re recording me. I’m just trying to check my cat. You’re recording me,’” she said, per Daily Mail.
The star went on to claim that at some point the receptionist came out, which is when Ellis began claiming that Cardi “hit” her.
“I’m like, I did not hit her. I’m looking at her like, girl, I can’t even hit you if I want to, you’re bigger than me,” she continued.
Cardi said the doctor proceeded to come out and asked her to go to his office, after which she just “walked away” from the situation.
Ellis first sued Cardi B in February 2020. In her 13-page complaint, she claimed the star physically attacked her and then “used her celebrity status to get [her] fired.” Once the trial began on Monday, Ellis and her lawyer said they were dropping the employment claim.
