Cardi B has firmly denied the allegations made against her by a woman, Emani Ellis, who accused her of assault.
Cardi B showed up to court in Los Angeles this week, donning blonde hair as she testified in her trial on day 2. The Bronx rapper was swarmed by reporters and paparazzi when she arrived at court on Tuesday (August 26). Reporters asked her if the allegations that she assaulted Ellis, and the rapper responded with a firm, “never.
The assault trial got underway on Monday of this week, and by day 2, Cardi B and her accuser were on the witness stand. The case stemmed from an alleged incident dating back to 2018, when Cardi was pregnant with her first child, Kulture, by Offset. Ellis was working as a security guard at a well-known medical office, which Cardi was visiting in Beverly Hills at the time.
Ellis says she was on her usual guard duties when she spotted the rapper in the medical office and remarked, “Wow, that’s Cardi B.” She said that her comment triggered the rapper into an angry fit as she had yet to announce her pregnancy.
However, Cardi B had a different story than that of her accuser. She testified that Emani Ellis was a security guard at the building of an obstetrician’s office in Beverly Hills. Cardi, who says she was four months pregnant at the time, noticed that the guard started recording with a smartphone and following her around.
Cardi B’s defense attorney, Peter Anderson, argued in his opening statement that the rapper feared for the safety of her then-unborn child with Offset as the woman was acting “belligerent.”
“Cardi B was facing someone, with all respect, who testified she was 240-250 pounds, wearing black military boots, hovering over her, yelling and screaming at her, taking swings at her, trying to get to her,” Anderson said. “There will be evidence that it was [Ellis] who yelled, ‘I will f*** your sh*t up.’ That’s when someone intervened and dragged [Ellis] to an elevator and said, ‘You have to leave.'”
Cardi B arrives for testimony at civil trial in Alhambra, Calif., says she “never” touched the security guard suing her with claims of assault and battery pic.twitter.com/sm5XBz5wO1
— Nancy Dillon (@Nancy__Dillon) August 26, 2025
Cardi B is navigating the courtroom drama as she prepares to release her long-awaited sophomore album, Am I the Drama?, set for release on September 19. The trial will likely be wrapped up by then, so only time will tell if she will face any repercussions from the trial, which stems from a lawsuit filed by her accuser.