Grammy award-winning rapper Cardi B has testified in a civil trial in Los Angeles, where she faces allegations of assaulting a security guard outside a Beverly Hills medical office in 2018. The rapper, born Belcalis Almanzar, appeared in court on Tuesday in Alhambra.
The lawsuit, filed in 2020 by security guard Emani Ellis, claims Cardi B violently attacked her while the rapper was pregnant with her first child. Ellis alleges she was struck on the head, face and body, spat on, and subjected to racial slurs.
She further claims that cuts from the rapper’s fingernails required plastic surgery. “The whole incident was super traumatizing for me. She did a lot that day,” Ellis said while testifying on Monday.
Cardi B disputes the allegations, maintaining that no physical assault occurred. “Yes, and nobody touched each other,” she said when asked if Ellis had recorded her without consent.
She testified that Ellis was the aggressor, claiming the security guard attempted to film her entering her OB-GYN’s office, at a time when her pregnancy had not yet been made public.
During questioning, Cardi B was asked to describe her fingernails, with Ellis having claimed they caused injuries. “I think it has to be less than an inch,” the rapper responded, adding, “To me, they are not pointy. They are like, circle.”
The defence has argued there were inconsistencies in Ellis’ testimony. Cardi B described the encounter as a verbal dispute sparked by unwanted recording, saying: “You’re recording me. Now you’re following me, like back up. And she’s like, ‘I can do what I want.’ It’s like, ‘No, you can’t.’ And that’s when we started arguing.”
Ellis is seeking monetary damages, with Cardi B facing civil claims of assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and false imprisonment.
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