Cardi B’s civil lawsuit reached a boiling point this week.
The rapper (born Belcalis Almanzar) appeared in Los Angeles County Court in Alhambra, Calif., on Aug. 25-27, as part of a civil assault trial. Security guard Emani Ellis sued Cardi in 2020, claiming that the Grammy winner assaulted her outside of a Beverly Hills medical office in February 2018.
Cardi, who at the time was pregnant with her first child, has repeatedly denied the assault allegations. The rapper — who said in court that she’s being sued for $24 million — admitted that she was involved in a “verbal altercation” with Ellis, whom she claimed was invading her privacy by video recording her before an OB-GYN appointment.
Since Cardi took the stand to deliver her testimony, many of her impassioned exchanges with the plaintiff’s lawyer, Ron Rosen Janfaza, have gone viral due to her unfiltered, expletive-laced responses and animated expressions, including eye rolls and shrugs.
Rosen Janfaza was notably confused when Cardi appeared on the stand on Aug. 26 due to a wig swap.
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“Yesterday you had black hair, short hair. Today it’s blonde and long. Which one is your real hair? Or are they both real?” Rosen Janfaza said.
After rolling her eyes and laughing, Cardi said, “They’re wigs!” before Rosen Janfaza responded, “Sorry, I didn’t know that. It’s a good wig today then.”
The same day, Rosen Janfaza fielded Cardi with questions about legal terms that she wasn’t familiar with. At one point, he asked her, “When I’m talking to you now, are we having a verbal altercation?”
The “Bodak Yellow” performer responded, “We’re having, I’ll say, a debate,” which drew a laugh from the crowd in the court room.
On Aug. 26, Cardi also testified about the incident, claiming that Ellis “followed” her through a hallway near the doctor’s office until they were “chest-to-chest” during the verbal altercation. At the time, “I’m thinking to myself, ‘Girl is big!'” Cardi said on the stand with a laugh. “She’s big, she got big black boots on, and I’m like, ‘Damn, the hell am I gonna do now?’
When Cardi returned to court on Aug. 27, she and Rosen Janfaza had more exchanges that fueled buzz online. At one point, the attorney asked Cardi what she told his client on the day of the altercation — before asking her to repeat it to Ellis herself in the court room.
“I said, ‘Bitch, get the f— out of my face. Why are you in my face? Why are you recording me? Ain’t you supposed to be security?'” Cardi said.
Rosen Janfaza said, “Tell it to her right now,” to which the rapper responded, “Huh?”
“Say it again. Say it,” Rosen Janfaza added, before Cardi’s lawyer objected.
Cardi said, “You want me to say it to her face,” and Rosen Janfaza responded, “Tell it to her face what you said on that day so she can hear it for herself.”
As Cardi made a face, her lawyer told the judge, “Your Honor, can we have civility in the court?”
Cardi’s first pregnancy was once again revisited in court on Aug. 27 when Rosen Janfaza asked Cardi if she could have scratched his client Ellis’ face if she wanted to.
“But I didn’t — but I didn’t because I had a baby inside me,” Cardi said.
Rosen Janfaza then asked her, “Are you disabled, yes or no?” Cardi responded, “At that moment, when you’re pregnant, I’m very disabled. You want me to tell you things I can’t do?”
Elsewhere during the testimony, Rosen Janfaza asked Cardi why she was “concerned” during the altercation. “Because I’m pregnant!” Cardi responded incredulously. “And this girl’s about to f—ing beat my ass! Hello?” This prompted Rosen Janfaza to reply, “Hello. Hello.”
That day, Rosen Janfaza’s line of questioning turned his his client’s physical size. When Cardi said that Ellis was “absolutely” bigger than her, Rosen Janfaza asked how she knew that. After gesturing emphatically at Ellis and pointing at her own eyes, Cardi said, “I mean, look.”
Rosen Janfaza then said “I don’t agree with that. What is your basis? Are you saying that she’s physically bigger, she’s taller?” Cardi responded, saying that she was 130 lbs. “at that time.” Rosen Janfaza later asked if Cardi had called his client fat, to which she responded, “No. I was calling her a bitch.”
Cardi elaborated that Ellis “was practically my height, but she is like … security heavy.” When asked what she meant by that, Cardi added, “She just looks a little…like she could protect a building … She just looks more…developed than me.”
The trial is expected to conclude next week.
