A Los Angeles jury cleared Cardi B of assault on Tuesday after a security guard sued her for $24 million in an alleged fingernail attack.
The BBC reported that the jury took only about an hour to clear the rapper of the allegations of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress as well as negligence and false imprisonment.
According to Rolling Stone, the rapper testified last week following a 2020 lawsuit filed by the security guard who alleged Cardi assaulted her outside a Beverly Hills medical clinic in 2018. Security guard Emani Ellis alleged that Cardi spat on her, slashed her face with her fingernails, and physically assaulted her when Cardi was at the obstetrician’s office.
Rolling Stone reported that Ellis, who worked at the office, started “wilding out” and seemed to be following and recording Cardi, who was then secretly expecting her first child with Migos rapper Offset.
Cardi stated that a “verbal altercation” started when she felt trapped, but it never turned violent, according to Rolling Stone.
“I didn’t touch her,” she repeatedly stated during the current trial, according to the publication. “It was like a verbal fight, but it didn’t get physical at all.”
The BBC reported that the mother of two told jurors that Ellis, a security guard in the building, called someone to let them know she was there and then followed her down a hallway after Cardi exited an elevator.
The artist went on to say that Ellis appeared to record her on her phone, violated her privacy, and wouldn’t “back up,” leading to a “verbal altercation” in person.
Cardi’s lawyer stated that the rapper “feared for her unborn baby” and accused Ellis of “changing your story”.
Ellis previously testified in court that she didn’t inform anyone that Cardi was there or record her, but that she yelled the rapper’s name out of excitement when she saw her. Ellis said the rapper threw insults and threats at her and attacked her after accusing her of trying to spread rumors that she was at the doctor’s office.
Since this was a civil case, the jury was asked to decide if Cardi should be held liable for injuring Ellis. The jury was also asked to look at if the rapper should pay the security guard for pain and suffering.
The jury cleared the rapper entirely in the case, BBC reported.
Cardi told reporters after the ruling: “I work all day and I work hard for my money, for my kids, for the people that I take care of. So don’t you ever think that you’re going to sue me, and I’m just going to settle.”
She said she missed her children’s first day of school because of the trial. “I’m not even playing around, even if I’m on my death bed, I swear to God I will say it on my deathbed, I did not touch that woman. I did not touch that girl. I didn’t lay my hands on that girl,” she said.
Cardi’s testimony during the trial went viral as she changed wigs each day.
