Cardi B has denied claims that her 2018 altercation with a security guard turned physical, as she testified in a civil assault and battery trial on Tuesday.
The Bodak Yellow rapper, real name Belcalis Almánzar, took the stand in Alhambra, California, insisting she never laid hands on security guard Emani Ellis during what she described as a “verbal altercation” at a Beverly Hills doctor’s office in February 2018.
According to her testimony, Ellis followed her down a hallway while she was secretly pregnant with her first child. Cardi B alleged that Ellis was on the phone, saying she had spotted her, and then held her phone against her chest as if recording while she walked from the lift to the office.
The 32-year-old said she confronted Ellis, asking why she was following and recording her. Ellis allegedly responded, “Because I can,” to which Cardi B replied, “No, you can’t.”
The situation escalated until the two were standing “chest to chest,” with Cardi shouting, “Bch, get the fk out of my face.”
“We’re literally screaming at each other,” Cardi testified. “I didn’t touch her. It was like a verbal fight, but it didn’t get physical at all.”
She further claimed that when the receptionist and doctor stepped in, Ellis began “wilding out” and accused her of hitting her.
Ellis, who filed her lawsuit in 2020, had earlier testified that the rapper scratched her face with her nails, spat on her, and left her traumatized.
Cardi B is expected to continue her testimony on Wednesday.
The star later welcomed her first child, Kulture, in July 2018. She also shares son Wave and daughter Blossom with her estranged husband, Migos rapper Offset.
