Cardi B has officially been cleared in her assault case.
On Tuesday (Sept. 2), after just an hour of deliberation, a jury found the rapper not guilty of assaulting former security guard Emani Ellis.
Jurors unanimously sided with Cardi on all counts—assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence—answering “no” to every question about whether Ellis had proven her claims.
The case stemmed from a 2018 incident at a Beverly Hills OB-GYN clinic, where Ellis alleged Cardi, who was pregnant with her first child Kulture at the time, scratched her face with a two-to-three-inch fingernail, swung at her but missed, spat on her, and hurled body-shaming and racist insults.
Cardi’s team denied all accusations throughout the trial.
The proceedings sparked viral moments when Ellis’ attorney Ron Rosen pressed Cardi to define “altercation,” confirm if her hair was real, repeat profanities at the plaintiff, and even weigh in on whether Ellis was “bigger” than her.
Speaking outside the courthouse after her victory, Cardi B thanked the jurors, the judge, the “respectful press,” and her fans for their support.
“I know you guys having a little kiki with the moment, but to be honest with you, I have missed my kids’ first day of school today … because of this,” she said.
Cardi stood firm on her innocence, declaring, “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. With that being said, this time around I’m gonna be nice. The next person to try to do a frivolous lawsuit against me, I’m going to countersue and I’m gonna make you pay because this is not OK.”
She also urged her fans not to attack Emani Ellis or her family online. “I hope that this is something that I leave behind, that she leaves behind,” she said. “Don’t go bother her. Don’t be talking about her. Don’t be talking about how she looks. Don’t call her no nasty names. Let’s just put this behind.”
The rapper made it clear she has no intention of settling future lawsuits, “especially when I’m super completely innocent.”
“I know I got a li’l reputation,” she added with a laugh, “but I swear to God I’m innocent.”
Cardi then touched on her upcoming album Am I the Drama?, set for release on Sept. 19. “It’s been really tough. It’s been really long nights for me. I’m in the middle of [an] album rollout, so it’s been late nights and early 5:30 in the morning mornings. I gotta get up at 5:30 so I could look like this for y’all,” she joked, drawing laughs from reporters.
When a reporter pointed out in Spanish that she wore a different wig each day of the trial, Cardi cracked up the crowd once more: “I’m telling you guys, when I say that my forehead is raw from changing all these wigs. Raw, raw, raw, raw.”
