By: Megan Isagholian
On September 2, 2025, Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B secured a legal victory after a California jury found her not liable in a $24 million civil assault lawsuit.[1]
Emani Ellis, a former security guard, filed the lawsuit from a 2018 altercation at a Beverley Hills obstetrician’s office between herself and Cardi B.[2] The lawsuit contained numerous allegations, including assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, and negligence.[3]
Cardi B and Ellis offered two accounts of the incident. Ellis claimed that Cardi B physically attacked her, spat on her, shouted racial slurs, and scratched Ellis’s face with her fingernail.[4] Ellis alleged that the scratch developed into a scar that required surgery.[5]
On the stand, Cardi B testified that Ellis followed her to the office, appeared to film her without her permission, and said her name to someone on the phone.[6] The office was closed to other patients the day of her appointment for privacy, as Cardi B had not yet publicly announced her pregnancy.[7] She was then pregnant with her first child and felt that Ellis invaded her privacy.[8]
Cardi B further testified that there was only a verbal altercation with Ellis, leading to them standing “chest to chest.”[9] Cardi B admitted that she yelled and used profanity at Ellis but denied any physical contact or that she shouted racial slurs.[10] Defense witness testimonies of David Finke, the doctor with whom Cardi B was visiting, and the doctor’s office receptionist, Tierra Malcolm, provided support for Cardi B’s account of the incident that Ellis was the aggressor.[11] The twelve-member jury reached a unanimous verdict and came to a rapid decision in favor of Cardi B.[12] Jury deliberations lasted for less than an hour.[13]
The judge allowed the trial to be livestreamed.[14] This case led to numerous viral moments, memes, and laughter from those inside the courtroom and from those watching online, specifically because of Cardi B’s testimony.[15] Clips have gone viral on TikTok, Instagram, and X.[16] For example, during Cardi B’s cross-examination by Ellis’s attorney, Ron A. Rosen Janfaza, asked about the many wigs she wore in the courtroom.[17] Ellis’s attorney most likely asked this question in an attempt to discredit Cardi B and make her appear as if she was not her true self. But this did the exact opposite. Cardi B’s genuine surprise at this question and her honest answer resonated with the jury. Her charismatic and witty personality, coupled with the defense’s strategy of highlighting inconsistencies in Ellis’s testimony, led to the jury finding in Cardi B’s favor. She was able to build rapport with the jury. Outside the courtroom on X, this moment has gained almost twenty million views.[18]
The judge also allowed jurors to submit questions for witnesses, providing an insight into the jurors’ thought processes during the trial.[19] This is an interesting choice from the judge. It could potentially be positive if the jury can obtain clarifications on witness testimony. However, it could have a negative impact, potentially leading to even more confusion.
After Cardi B’s victory, she spoke to reporters outside the courthouse and called the lawsuit “frivolous,” stating that she would “countersue” the next person who filed such lawsuits against her.[20] Thanks to Cardi B’s defense team and her unfiltered and humorous interactions in the courtroom, Cardi B came out victorious, being cleared of all claims.
[1] Sian Cain, Cardi B cleared of assaulting security guard in Los Angeles, The Guardian (Sept. 2, 2025, at 21:42 EDT), https://www.theguardian.com/ [https://perma.cc/W5U9-NESA].
[2] Rollo Ross & Danielle Broadway, California jury clears pop star Cardi B of assault allegations in lawsuit, Reuters (Sept. 2, 2025, at 8:16 PM), https://www.reuters.com/ [https://perma.cc/JHW2-TPJC].
[3] Cain, supra note 1.
[4] Ross & Broadway, supra note 2.
[5] Cain, supra note 1.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Ross & Broadway, supra note 2.
[9] Jess Sobrevinas, How Cardi B quietly shut down a $24M assault claim, Rolling Out (Sept. 3, 2025, at 8:15 AM), https://rollingout.com/ [https://perma.cc/YQ4V-3M77].
[10] Ross & Broadway, supra note 2.
[11] Richard Winton, Cardi B defense gets boost in civil trial as receptionist describes fracas outside doctor’s office, L.A. Times (Aug. 27, 2025, at 7:46 PM), https://www.latimes.com/ [https://perma.cc/GAH7-5V5Q].
[12] Ross & Broadway, supra note 2.
[13] Id.
[14] Meghann Cuniff, Cardi B is on trial in an assault lawsuit, and the judge let jurors ask their own questions, Legal Affairs & Trials with Meghann Cuniff (Sept. 1, 2025), https://www.legalaffairsandtrials.com/ [https://perma.cc/NT8F-F9C9].
[15] Esme Fox, Cardi B’s court testimony becomes an online spectacle. So do her wigs., NBC News (Aug. 29, 2025, at 3:00 AM), https://www.nbcnews.com/ [https://perma.cc/6XST-FA2J].
[16] Id.
[17] Cuniff, supra note 14.
[18] Id.
[19] Id.
[20] Ross & Broadway, supra note 2.
