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In her upcoming studio album, Cardi B asks fans “Am I the Drama?” Weeks ahead of the album’s release, some who have been following her trial seem to have settled on an answer.
Cardi B, the Grammy-award winning rapper, took the stand in a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday in a case involving an alleged incident with former security guard Emani Ellis.
Ellis filed a lawsuit against Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, alleging that she physically attacked her in the hallway of a Beverly Hills obstetrician’s office in 2018, according to court documents obtained by NBC News and Today.com. Cardi B has denied the allegations.
The trial has become the latest legal case involving a celebrity to captivate audiences online and spark a flurry of memes. Many have likened it to actor Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski crash trial in 2023, which prompted a similar reaction from fans.
In clips that have circulated across X, TikTok and Instagram, fans of Cardi B have joked about her facial reactions and blunt responses to questions during her cross-examination.
“Cardi B in court today was like an SNL skit,” an X user wrote in a post that accompanied video of the testimony. The post had been viewed more than 7.2 million times as of Thursday afternoon.
A representative for Cardi B did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Aymar Jean Christian, a communications professor at Northwestern University, said people online are most likely drawn to the testimony because they admire Cardi B’s authenticity.
Amid a “hyper-formalized setting … most people would assume you’re going to put on a show of being demure, kind of tamping down all of the interesting, rough edges of yourself for a little proceeding,” Christian said.
Instead, Cardi B is seen “being saucy, a little flippant, and I think people enjoy that,” Christian said. “She cannot help but be herself, which is why she’s a huge star.”
Ellis, who testified Monday, alleges in court documents that Cardi B struck her in the head, face and body, spit on her and used multiple racial slurs. She claims Cardi B “used her celebrity status” to get her fired.
Ellis said she received “psychological and medical treatment as a result of this incident,” according to the lawsuit. She seeks damages that include medical expenses, compensation for emotional and physical suffering and lost wages, according to court documents.
Cardi B has denied spitting on or scratching Ellis.
Despite the severity of the allegations, many online appeared amused by Cardi B’s testimony.
At the time of the alleged incident, she said, she was keeping the pregnancy of her first child with rapper Offset a secret. She claimed Ellis followed her to her fifth-floor doctor’s appointment.
Pressed about whether she was “angry” at Ellis that day, Cardi B said: “Yes I was angry! Because I’m pregnant! And this girl’s about to beat my ass!”
Asked whether she was “disabled” at the time of the alleged incident, she said: “When you’re pregnant, I’m very disabled. You want me to tell you things I can’t do?”
Her response was met with laughter in the courtroom, according to clips that circulated online.
“this is cardi at her cardiest,” popular meme influencer Saint Hoax, who has 3.4 million followers on Instagram, wrote in the caption of a post about the trial.
Meanwhile, culture commentator Evan Ross Katz, who has 427,000 followers on Instagram, joked in his post that he would have been removed from the courtroom if he were there for Cardi B’s testimony “on account of laughing so hard at this.”
His post included clips of Cardi B describing Ellis as “security heavy” and someone who “looks like she can protect a building.”
Some online also commented on Cardi B’s various wigs. She even confused an attorney in the courtroom after she swapped a short black wig for a long blond one.
“Which one is your real hair?” the lawyer asked, according to video clips of the trial shared online. “Or are they both real?”
“They’re wigs,” Cardi B said after laughing.
But the case has also been, at times, very heated.
Ellis’ attorney asked Cardi B to recall the language she used in interacting with Ellis in 2018, according to video shared on X by journalist Meghann Cuniff. She responded by repeating the profanities she said to Ellis that day. The lawyer then asked Cardi B to say the remarks directly “to her face.”
The exchange prompted Cardi B’s attorney Peter J. Anderson to object and ask the judge, “Your Honor, can we have civility in this courthouse?”
“Why don’t we just take the temperature down a little bit?” the judge replied. “If you have actual questions to ask her, please do so. It’s not time to argue with her.”
Christian, the Northwestern professor, suggested the trial could give Cardi B some extra publicity ahead of her new album, which is set to be released Sept. 19.
“It seems to me that she’s aware this is being filmed, and she’s using it as any other media opportunity, which is an opportunity to really get people to get to know her and be on her side,” she said.
The trial is expected to continue and conclude next week after the Labor Day holiday.
