Inside Cardi B’s Court Drama With a Security Guard — What Really Happened Between Them?

Multiple clips of Cardi B (real name Belcalis Almánzar) in the courtroom, along with footage of a woman testifying against her, started circulating on social media at the end of August 2025. The clips portray Cardi as the defendant, which, of course, suggests she has done something wrong. And while we all know Cardi isn’t a stranger to controversy or legal matters, these particular videos left some folks pretty confused because they didn’t know what had happened or why she was in court.

As it turns out, Cardi was hit with a civil lawsuit by Emani Ellis, who accused her of assault and battery during an altercation at an OB-GYN medical building in Beverly Hills on Feb. 24, 2018. The lawsuit was filed in 2020, but the court hearing didn’t begin until 2025. Both women have given different accounts of what happened, so here’s a breakdown of each side of the story.

Emani Ellis claimed in her lawsuit that Cardi B was verbally and physically abusive toward her while she was working security at a Beverly Hills OB-GYN medical center back in 2018. At the time, the rapper arrived pregnant with her first child, though her pregnancy wasn’t publicly known, according to ABC7. Cardi says that when she arrived, Ellis allegedly began recording her, prompting her to ask if she was being followed and filmed.

Ellis reportedly replied, “I can do what I want,” to which Cardi responded, “No, you can’t. You can’t do what you want.”

Because Cardi was inside a medical office building when Ellis allegedly began filming, questions have been raised about HIPAA privacy laws, as well as rules Ellis may have been required to follow while on duty.

After Cardi told Ellis she couldn’t film her, a verbal altercation ensued. Cardi says all they did was argue, but Ellis paints a very different picture. She claims the rapper degraded her because of her career, threatened to get her fired, and “beat her ass.” During her testimony, Ellis also claimed that Cardi was “sticking her tongue out… body shaming me,” used “racial slurs,” and even spit on her.

The battery allegations come after Ellis says Cardi struck her face and body, resulting in injuries that required medical attention and plastic surgery to treat a scar caused by Cardi’s nails. A lawyer in the case suggested that Ellis’s medical bills are estimated at around $36,000. CourtTV claims that charges for Ellis's treatment totalled $17,500. Ellis admitted in court that she received care on a lean basis, meaning she underwent care without paying the full cost up front.

People have questioned Ellis’s account because she waited a year before seeking medical treatment (she claims her doctor didn’t want to treat the injuries prematurely) and didn’t take any photos of her injuries.

Ellis also says she continues to deal with psychological issues stemming from the incident and is seeking monetary damages from Cardi B.

While testifying in court at the end of August 2025, Cardi firmly maintained that the incident was purely verbal. “I personally feel like if there is no physical touch, there is no incident. There was a verbal altercation. She didn’t hit me and I didn’t hit her,” the rapper stated. She also denied spitting on Ellis, as Ellis had claimed.

While some believe Cardi could have had a confrontation with Ellis, especially if Ellis was trying to take photos to expose her pregnancy before it was public, many view Ellis’s lawsuit as a “money grab” and doubt she has a legitimate case.