What is Cardi B's ethnicity? Rapper calls herself "Afro Caribbean" when asked in court whether she considers herself "African American"

Cardi B recently found herself in the middle of a lawsuit in connection to an alleged assault dating back to 2018. In the incident, a security guard named Emani Ellis accused the rapper of assaulting her at a Beverly Hills OB-GYN office. A recent clip of Cardi at the courtroom has been going viral in which she was asked about her ethnicity.

The conversation went as the lawyer asked the rapper if she had spat on Ellis and cussed her. When asked if she considered herself African American, the rapper said,

"I consider myself Afro-Caribbean."

In August 2019, the rapper had opened up about her race and ethnicity during an Instagram live session. During the live session, she first stated that many people did not understand the difference between race and ethnicity and blamed the education system for the same. Further, Cardi went about opening up about her ethnicity. She said,

"I’m not Mexican at all. I’m West Indian, and I’m Dominican. I speak Spanish because I’m Dominican."

During the live session, Cardi even talked about her race. She added that just being light-skinned, did not mean she wasn't Black. The rapper additionally stated,

"It’s like, ‘Cardi’s Latin, she’s not Black.’ And it’s like, bro, my features don’t come from…White people f—ng, okay?’ And they always wanna race-bait when it comes to me…I have Afro features." 

What had happened in 2018 leading to the civil lawsuit against Cardi B?

The civil lawsuit was related to an incident that transpired in 2018 when Cardi B was pregnant with her first child. As previously mentioned, the security guard had accused the rapper of assaulting her outside a medical office in 2018. According to reports by ABC7, a reporter asked the rapper if the suit was just a "shakedown for money."

To this, Cardi B responded with "absolutely." While the security guard accused the rapper of assaulting her, Cardi had denied the claims. On Monday, she told Eyewitness News that she felt very confident and optimistic. Meanwhile, the rapper had also made some claims against the security guard Emani Ellis.

The rapper claimed that Emani Ellis was the aggressor and she was trying to record Cardi even after noticing that she was pregnant. The rapper added that at the time the public did not know about her pregnancy. In 2020, Emani filed a suit against the rapper and claimed that the latter had become violent towards her.

Emani further claimed that Cardi struck her in the face and head and also spat on her. She also accused Cardi of using racial slurs against her. According to Emani, Cardi B's long nails caused injuries to her face and apparently required plastic surgery. On the first day of the trial, Emani Ellis recalled her side of the story and said,

"The whole incident was super traumatizing for me. She did a lot that day."

On the second day of trial, the rapper was asked about how long her fingernails were and if they were sharp. To this, she responded by saying that they were less than an inch long and also were not pointy. The rapper has been charged with assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and false imprisonment.

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