Cardi B has prevailed in a civil lawsuit brought against her by a Beverly Hills security guard after two days of testimony from the rapper that was sometimes colorful and drew laughter from jurors.
Emani Ellis sued Cardi B for $24 million, accusing her of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress in the aftermath of a confrontation in a hallway outside of an obstetrician’s office. Ellis claimed that, during the set-to, the rapper scratched her with a long nail extension, leaving a facial scar.
The hip-hop star was found not liable on all counts by jurors after less
than an hour of deliberations.
“I swear to God, I will say it on my deathbed, I did not touch that woman,” Cardi B said outside the courthouse following the conclusion of the trial. She added that she had missed her kids’ first day of school because of the civil trial.
“I want to thank my lawyers,” she said, “I want to thank the jurors, I want to thank the judge, and I want to thank the respectful press.”
Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, testified that she never touched, scratched or spat at the security guard, who she believed was taking video of her with her cellphone. The rapper was four months pregnant and had an appointment on the day of the incident — Feb. 24, 2018.
Ellis worked as a security guard at the Beverly Hills building where Cardi B had her medical appointment, and she testified that she was doing her rounds when she saw the celebrity exit the elevator. She testified that she was overcome with excitement and declared, “Wow, it’s Cardi B.”
Ellis alleged that the performer then turned to her and said, “Why the f— are you telling people you’ve seen me?” Cardi B then accused her of trying to spread news about her being at the doctor’s office, she testified during the four-day trial.
Cardi B cursed at her, used the N-word and other slurs, called her names, threatened her job, body-shamed her and mocked her career, Ellis said. She alleged Cardi B spat on her, took a swing at her and scratched her left cheek with a 2- to 3-inch fingernail.
But jurors believed Cardi B’s version of events, which was that Ellis was the aggressor.
The rapper blasted the plaintiff in an Alhambra courtroom, saying she was looking for a payout. Cardi B said the pair went chest-to-chest and exchanged angry words but nothing more.
She told jurors that she said to Ellis: “B—, get the f— out of my face. Why are you in my face? Why are you recording me? Ain’t you supposed to be security?’
“I’m thinking to myself, ‘Girl is big!’” she testified.” “She’s got big black boots on. I’m like, ‘D—, the hell am i gonna do now?’”
The rapper said that she’s 5 feet 3 and was 130 pounds and pregnant at the time of the incident. She wouldn’t have tried to fight the guard, who was far larger, she said.
Asked if she was “disabled” during the incident, Cardi B’s comments drew laughter in the courtroom: “At that moment, when you’re pregnant, I’m very disabled,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “You want me to tell you the things I can’t do?”
Tierra Malcolm, a receptionist for Dr. David Finke, with whom Cardi B had an appointment that day, told jurors that she saw Ellis corner the celebrity. The receptionist said she then got between them, and the guard reached for the rapper. Malcolm said she ended up with a cut on her own forehead.
Finke testified that he saw the guard cause that injury and also hit the receptionist’s shoulder. He further said that Ellis had no injuries. Both testified they never saw Cardi B hit Ellis.
During closing arguments on Tuesday, Ellis’ attorney, Ron Rosen Janfaza, told jurors, “Cardi B needs to be held accountable.” “There was no video camera … so really it comes down to one thing — do you believe, Ms. Ellis, a guard with a good record? She is a model citizen,” he told jurors.
Rosen Janfaza noted that, under cross-examination, the rapper acknowledged that she and Ellis were chest-to-chest as expletives were exchanged, and that alone is an unwelcome touch and battery on his client, he said. He told jurors that the receptionist and doctor did not see the 40 to 50 seconds where Cardi B labeled his client fat, spat on her and took a swing at her.
He said his client suffered for seven years, and “this was a violent attack.”
Cardis B’s attorney, Peter Anderson, said jurors needed to employ common sense to reject the security guard’s story and that the preponderance of evidence showed his client did nothing more than yell and curse, and “that isn’t something you can sue over.”
“The question is whether Cardi ever struck the plaintiff,” Anderson said. And the evidence is overwhelming that she did not, he said. Anderson said that the guard testified that she never made a police report, did not seek immediate medical attention, did not even use a Band-Aid on the scratch, but went home and took a nap.
