Cardi B has a message for people who try to sue her now that she’s been found not liable in her recent assault trial.
Cardi addressed the public shortly after the jury cleared her on Tuesday (Sept. 2), first thanking everyone in her corner.
“I want to thank the jurors,” she said. “I want to thank the judge and I want to thank the respectful press—I really appreciate that.”
The rapper then reiterated her claim of innocence and issued a warning.
“I swear to God, I did not touch that woman,” she claimed. “I didn’t lay my hands on that girl and with that being said, the next person that tried to do a frivolous lawsuit against me, I’m going to countersue and make you pay. Because this is not OK.”
“I feel like people have this misinterpretation of celebrities, that if I ask for this, they’re going to settle,” Cardi continued. “Don’t ever think I’m just going to give you my money that I work hard for. I don’t lay in bed all day, I work all day. I work for my kids who I take care of, so don’t ever think you’re just going to sue me and I’m just going to settle.”
After only an hour of deliberation, the jury in Cardi’s case determined that she didn’t assault former security guard Emani Ellis.
Ellis claimed that during an altercation at an obstetrics and gynecology facility in Beverly Hills, Cardi scratched her face with a fingernail that she described as “about two or three inches long.”
Ellis, who was a security guard at the time, also alleged that Cardi called her a racial slur and spat on her.
Last week, Cardi’s gynecologist David Finke, who witnessed the aftermath of the confrontation, took the stand in Cardi’s defense and said he didn't see Cardi spit on, swing at, hit, scratch, threaten, or call Ellis names.
When asked under cross-examination if he was motivated to “help Cardi B in this case” so he could “continue to receive celebrity clients,” Finke responded by asserting his wish to tell the truth.
“It's very important for me to tell what happened that day and to ensure that anybody coming to my office, celebrity or not, doesn't have that type of experience,” Finke answered.