Los Angeles jury clears Cardi B of assault allegations

Published September 3, 2025 13:10

Photo: REUTERS/Johanna Geron, photo editor: Dastan Shanay

After a brief civil trial in Los Angeles, jurors quickly sided with Cardi B in a case where a security guard claimed the rapper attacked her back in 2018. The jury took just under an hour to reach their verdict, clearing Cardi of allegations that she scratched and spat on the guard, according to The Guardian.

The security guard, Emani Ellis, had claimed Cardi’s long acrylic nails left a three-inch gash on her face that needed surgery. She sued for medical expenses, emotional trauma, and lost wages. But Cardi B, born Belcalis Almánzar, maintained throughout that it was just a heated verbal argument with no physical contact.

«I’m ready to put this whole thing in the rearview,» Cardi told reporters outside the courthouse. «I’m not one of those celebrities who’s just going to throw money at lawsuits to make them go away — especially when I know I did nothing wrong.»

The incident happened when Cardi, four months pregnant at the time, went to see her OB-GYN. She testified that Ellis followed her into the building and seemed to be filming her, which could have revealed her pregnancy before she was ready to announce it. The doctor and office staff backed up Cardi’s version of events, saying they never saw any physical altercation, The Guardian reported.

Taking the stand in her own defense, Cardi put it bluntly: «There’s no way she got scratched by me because I never touched her.»

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