Cardi B cleared of $24m assault lawsuit over 2018 altercation in Los Angeles

Rapper Cardi B has been cleared of a $24 million assault lawsuit stemming from an alleged 2018 altercation with a security guard at a doctor’s office.

A Los Angeles jury, made up of six men and six women, unanimously ruled in Cardi’s favour after deliberating for just an hour.

The verdict found that the 32-year-old star, whose real name is Belcalis Almánzar, did not assault security guard Emani Ellis.

Ellis had accused the rapper of striking her, spitting on her, and scratching her face with a fingernail after following and filming her at an obstetrician’s office.

She filed the lawsuit in 2020, demanding $24 million in damages.

Outside court, Cardi expressed relief, though she admitted the case had taken an emotional toll.

“The next person to try to do a frivolous lawsuit against me, I’m going to countersue and I’m going to make you pay, because this is not OK,” she told reporters.

“Don’t you ever think that you’re going to sue me and I’m just going to settle and give you my money. It’s not going to happen.”

She also noted how the trial forced her to miss her children’s first day of school, calling it “really tough” while she also prepares to release her upcoming album Am I the Drama? on September 19.

Ellis, meanwhile, maintained her stance despite the outcome. Speaking after the verdict, she said: “I don’t think that it reflects the truth, but I’m not disappointed. I had my day in court, I showed up, I held my head high.”

Tensions during the trial occasionally spilled outside the courtroom. Cardi was seen angrily throwing a pen at a reporter who asked about pregnancy rumours as she entered court earlier this week.

The rapper, now dating NFL player Stefon Diggs, denied being pregnant and criticised the question as “disrespectful.”

Cardi’s attorney, Peter Anderson, argued that Ellis had instigated the 2018 incident, claiming she deliberately followed and recorded the rapper, who was pregnant at the time.

He told jurors: “Cardi did not do anything wrong, except try to protect her baby and get to a doctor.”