Cardi B is being sued for assault and battery for throwing a microphone at a fan who splashed the rapper with a drink during a Las Vegas concert in 2023.
In July 2023, a viral video showed Cardi (Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar) hurling her microphone at a concertgoer whose drink hit the rapper mid-performance of “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” at Las Vegas’ Drai’s Beachclub. The incident was reported to local police, who performed a brief criminal investigation but decided not to file charges.
Now the alleged victim — a Cleveland, Ohio resident suing under the pseudonym Jane Doe — is bringing a civil lawsuit over the incident. Doe’s complaint, filed on Monday (July 21), says Cardi had no reason to get so mad when she threw her drink; according to the legal filing, Cardi had actually been asking fans to help her cool off during the hot outdoor concert.
“Multiple attendees responded in kind, throwing drinks toward the stage, several of which visibly reached Cardi B and the surrounding performance area,” write Doe’s lawyers. “Plaintiff, acting in accordance with the environment created by Cardi B’s express words and conduct, and in a manner consistent with other attendees, splashed a small portion of her drink in Cardi B’s direction. In apparent anger and without warning, Cardi B suddenly and forcefully threw her microphone directly at plaintiff.”
Doe says she suffered physically and emotionally from being hit with Cardi’s microphone, and that she was harassed and embarrassed when the incident went viral. This distress was further “exacerbated” when the microphone in question was auctioned off for nearly $100,000 on eBay, the lawsuit says.
The woman is suing Drai’s Beachclub for negligence in addition to the assault and battery claims against Cardi, alleging the venue’s security failed to intervene or de-escalate the incident. She says Drai’s should have known Cardi might get violent because the rapper had thrown a microphone at a DJ in a similar altercation the night before.
Reps for Doe claim they’re using the pseudonym because the plaintiff “is currently suffering from mental health issues as a result of the incident and does not want to be identified due to potential backlash.”
The woman herself says in a statement that she’s “seeking justice in the hopes of holding Cardi B accountable for her misdeeds, as no celebrity is above the law.”
“What has been written off as a joke by many people is actually a traumatic experience that has significantly impacted my well-being and quality of life,” Doe adds.
Cardi’s legal team, meanwhile, is dismissing the lawsuit as a “transparent and pitiful attempted financial shakedown.”
“The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Clark County District Attorney’s Office closed this matter for insufficient evidence a long time ago, but apparently the opportunity to try to make money off of a celebrity was too much for some willing law firm to pass up,” says Cardi’s attorney, Drew Findling.
