Cardi B blames government in onstage fall amid Epstein files dispute with DHS

Rapper Cardi B joked about government responsibility after falling onstage

Cardi B made light of a recent onstage fall by jokingly blaming the U.S. government, following an online exchange with the United States Department of Homeland Security.

That was the government LMAOOO I can’t with her pic.twitter.com/e3nRTMPXIL

— CardiBArchive (@cardibarchive_) February 14, 2026

During a February 13 stop in Las Vegas on her ‘Little Miss Drama’ tour, the rapper fell backward off a chair while performing her 2018 track “Thotiana.” After finishing the song, she quipped to the audience, “That was the government!”

The comment came days after Cardi B criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a previous concert appearance, telling the crowd she would defend fans if ICE agents entered the venue. In response, the Department of Homeland Security posted on social media that “as long as she doesn’t drug and rob our agents,” it would consider that an improvement over her past behavior — a reference to a 2016 video in which Cardi B said she had drugged and robbed men while working as a stripper before achieving fame.

The rapper previously addressed those remarks in 2019, stating that she made certain choices at the time because she had limited options and was trying to survive.

More recently, Cardi B responded on X to the DHS comment by referencing the release of documents connected to Jeffrey Epstein. She wrote that if discussions were about drugs, attention should also be paid to allegations involving Epstein and associates and questioned why more focus was not placed on the so-called “Epstein files.”

Approximately three million additional documents tied to Epstein were released January 30 by the Department of Justice under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The materials reportedly include thousands of videos and images compiled over decades of investigations into Epstein, who was arrested in 2019 on sex trafficking charges and later died in jail. Authorities ruled his death a suicide.

 The files reportedly contain numerous references to Donald Trump, his wife Melania Trump, and his Mar-a-Lago property, citing prior reporting. Trump has denied wrongdoing and has said he was unaware of Epstein’s crimes.

Cardi B has previously been critical of the Trump administration, and her public disputes have drawn responses from political figures.