Cardi B is calling out the unrealistic post-baby beauty expectations she says the internet places on women.
During an emotional X Spaces stream on Saturday (Nov. 15), the 33-year-old mom of four pushed back against what she described as “fake ass concerned people on social media.”
The Am I the Drama? rapper said critics blew her appearance at a New York City event out of proportion, even though she recently welcomed her fourth child — her first with boyfriend Stefon Diggs.
Despite people claiming she was suddenly “back outside,” Cardi made it clear she’s been home recovering with her newborn the entire time.
“You don’t even know when I gave birth to my kid. Second, I just find it really funny how y’all took one event that I went to for one hour… literally even less, because my obligation was to be there for 30 minutes,” she said on the livestream.
Cardi reflected on how postpartum hit her hard in the past, especially after giving birth to Kulture in 2018, when she “was at home for three months” dealing with “the worst postpartum” that left her traumatized.
With her later pregnancies, she battled sadness and tried to find herself again by doing simple things — getting her hair done, shopping, and gradually easing back into work.
She said she’s doing the same thing now, explaining that bed rest after this most recent birth left her “crying almost for everything,” and that slowly getting back into small routines is essential for her mental health.
“I put a faja on yesterday. I didn’t put a faja on right away when I gave birth, I didn’t do nothing,” she said, noting the compression garment helps her feel like herself again. “Like I said, I was on bed rest… I was getting so many different thoughts… I was crying almost for everything.”
“I’m slowly starting to get in the rhythm of me, and it makes me feel good,” she added. “I don’t like how you bitches are like, ‘Oh, she’s outside, she’s doing this.’ Y’all have not seen me in a club, y’all have not seen me out on a dinner… but y’all ignore all the story posts of me with my kids.”
She emphasized that she’s with her children constantly: “I give my nanny a lot of breaks… I sleep with him in the daytime, I feed him… I live with my kids.”
Cardi’s frustration centered on the contradictory body expectations she says the public throws at women — especially celebrities.
“I don’t wanna hear none of y’all bitches talking shit about, ‘Oh well, she’s so quick [to put] a faja on,’ because there’s another celebrity that y’all was just fucking violating… because y’all want them to… put Ozempic all over their fucking body after giving birth,” she said.
She continued, “If a celebrity gained a little bit of weight after they give birth, y’all want them to inject themselves with 300 Ozempic shots… but if a girl like me is like, ‘Oh, I’m putting my faja on’ because I wanna retract a little faster, it’s a problem, too.”
“Y’all just have a problem with women, period,” she concluded.
Cardi’s stream came shortly after her estranged husband Offset posted — and later deleted — an Instagram Story joking about a Georgia law that could technically recognize him as the father of Cardi and Diggs’ newborn son, since he and Cardi are still legally married.
