The music world is still stirring over the huge Cardi B controversy that erupted the week of March 25. The rapper found herself in the middle of a polarizing argument over a video that has resurfaced from her past. In the video, originally posted on her Instagram live three years ago, Cardi claims she had to drug and rob men to survive. To watch the video, click here.
In a heated and argumentative tone, Cardi states the following:“…the sh*t that I did to motherf*cking survive. I had to go strip. I had to go, ‘Oh yeah, you wanna f**k me?’ Yeah, let’s go back to this hotel. And I drugged ni**as up and I robbed them. That’s what I used to do. Nothing was motherf**king handed to me…”
As the resurfaced video blew up, it spawned outrage across social media. The hashtag #SurvivingCardiB , in reference to the docuseries Surviving R. Kelly which investigates the allegations of his sexual misconduct, trended on Twitter. People are comparing this situation to those of R. Kelly and Bill Cosby. There are claims that fans of Cardi are letting this major crime go because she is a woman. Many people have related this to the double standard of gender equality.
Twitter user @rebecca01146617 commented on the situation, “why isn’t anyone talking about #CardiB and her drugging men then robbing them… like if this were a man for example… this would be a different story. waiting for #survivingcardib”
Another user, @r3al__AJ said the following, “Y’all need to Keep that same energy for Cardi B that y’all had for Bill Cosby, R.Kelly and Michael Jackson.”
@Callumbell14_ stated, “Imagine if it was a Male f*cking and drugging women then stealing all their sh*t, the world would have a completely different reaction … double standards much #SurvivingCardiB”
Cardi responded to the outburst using a Notes screenshot on Instagram in which she says the following:
“So I’m seeing on social media that a live I did 3 years ago has popped back up. A live where I talked about things I had to do in my past right or wrong that I felt I needed to do to make a living. I never claim to be perfect or come from a perfect world wit[h] a perfect past I always speak my truth I always own my shit. I’m apart of a hip-hop culture where you can talk about where you come from, talk about the wrong thing you had to do to get where you are. There are rappers that glorify murder violence drugs an[d] robbing. Crimes they feel they had to do to survive. I never glorified the things I brought up in that live I never even put those things in my music because I’m not proud of it and feel a responsibility not to glorify it. I made the choices that I did at the time because I had very limited options. I was blessed to have been able to rise from that but so many women have not. Whether or not they were poor choices at the time I did what I had to do to survive. The men I spoke about n my live were men that I dated that I was involve[d] with men that were conscious willing and aware. I have a past that I can’t change we all do.”
She captioned the post with “All I can do now is be a better me for myself my family and my future.”
On Twitter, she made the statement, “I never claim to be a angel I always been a street b*tch Ya be glorifying this street rappers that talk and do that grimmey street sh*t but they can’t stand a street b*tch!”. She even twitted the playful sentence, “When they try to cancel me on Twitter and Instagram,” followed by emojis.
People are still holding her to her crimes, such as user @Cearablue, “this isn’t about ruining your career. This is about holding you accountable for your actions. You started this, we need to end it. The artist and the art can no longer be separate”.
As the story continues to develop, it is certain that the video has caused many to change their perception of the celebrity.