'Next person who sues me will pay': Cardi B wins security guard assault lawsuit, claps back at 'frivolous' claims

Cardi B scored a decisive victory Tuesday in a lawsuit brought by a security guard who claimed the rapper assaulted her at a doctor’s office during Cardi’s then-secret first pregnancy.

The 12-member jury at a small courthouse in Alhambra, California deliberated for roughly an hour before unanimously finding Cardi not liable in the case brought by Emani Ellis. Ellis had alleged that Cardi scratched her face with a fingernail and spat on her in a Beverly Hills obstetrician’s hallway in February 2018. Only nine jurors were required for a verdict in the civil case.

Speaking outside the courthouse, Cardi expressed her frustration with frivolous lawsuits. “The next person who tries to do a frivolous lawsuit against me, I’m going to counter-sue, and I’m gonna make you pay, because this is not OK,” she said. “I am not that celeb that you sue, and you think is going to settle. I’m not gonna settle. Especially when I’m super completely innocent.”

She added that the trial forced her to miss her children's irst day of school and joked about her hair: “My forehead is raw, raw, raw from all the wig changes during the trial,” she said, laughing about the confusion even her lawyer had over which hair was real.

During a lunch break before the verdict, cameras captured Cardi throwing a marker at a man who shouted questions about whether she was pregnant and the father of the child. She called the questions disrespectful.

In two days of widely watched, livestreamed testimony last week, Cardi said she feared Ellis would make her pregnancy public. She admitted to arguing with Ellis but maintained the altercation never became physical.

“I will say it on my deathbed. I did not touch that woman,” Cardi told reporters after her win. “I did not touch that girl. I didn’t lay my hands on that girl.”

Ellis’ attorney, Ron Rosen Janfaza, did not immediately respond to a request for comment but said outside the court that they plan to appeal.

During closing arguments earlier Tuesday, Janfaza argued that Ellis’ career ambitions in law enforcement were derailed because of the incident. “Whether it’s the FBI, police, attorney, whatever she wanted to do, this incident cut it off,” he said. He also criticized Cardi’s courtroom language, suggesting it showed a lack of respect for the proceedings.

Cardi testified that in February 2018, she was in Los Angeles for promotional work around the NBA All-Star Game. She was four months pregnant with her first child with rapper Offset and had shared the news only with her inner circle, not the public or her parents.

The obstetrician’s office had been closed to other patients to protect her privacy, but Cardi said Ellis, a security guard, followed her to her fifth-floor appointment. She testified that Ellis appeared to be recording her on a phone. “I told her, ‘Why are you recording?’” Cardi said. “And she said, ’Oh my bad.’ She practically apologised.”

The argument escalated, with Cardi saying Ellis backed her into her. Ellis testified that the incident left her humiliated and required cosmetic surgery to repair a scar on her face. She sought damages for medical expenses, emotional and physical suffering, lost wages, and punitive damages. Cardi told the jury that Ellis was suing her for $24 million.

A receptionist who intervened during the confrontation largely corroborated Cardi’s version of events.

(With inputs from AP)