Cardi B has never hidden the fact that she was a major hustler in her early days. She was a stripper, she was in a gang, she did anything and everything to support herself and her family. She hustled her way onto a reality show, and then hustled her way into a music career. So it’s weird that Cardi’s honesty is, like, coming back to haunt her? Apparently, three years ago, Cardi admitted in an Instagram Live video that in her early days she used to drug and rob men. Which… okay. That’s something in her past, which she already talked about. But people rediscovered the Instagram Live video, so now Cardi had to talk about it in greater detail:
After a video surfaced of Cardi B admitting to robbing and drugging men, the singer is explaining herself. In the clip from an Instagram Live recorded three years ago, the rapper said, “I had to go strip, I had to go, ‘Oh yeah, you want to f–k me? Yeah, yeah, yeah, let’s go back to this hotel,’ and I drugged n—–s up, and I robbed them. That’s what I used to do,” (via Hip Hop Ratchet) she explained.
After horrified social media users responded to the 26-year-old star’s confession with the hashtag #SurvivingCardiB (in reference to the R. Kelly documentary “Surviving R. Kelly”) Cardi took to Instagram to explain her actions.
“So I’m seeing on social media that [an Instagram] 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,” she wrote in a post on Tuesday. “I never claim (sic) to be perfect or come from a perfect world wit (sic) a perfect past I always speak my truth I always own my s–t.”
The star said that while many artists glorify violence and crime, that was never her style.
“There are rappers that glorify murder violence drugs an (sic) robbing. Crimes they feel they had to do to survive,” she said. “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 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,” she said. “Whether or not they were poor choices at the time I did what I had to do to survive.”
And the Bronx native clarified that all the men she referred to in the clip were men who she was dating and she claims they knew what she was doing. “The men I spoke about in my life were men that I dated that I was involved with men that [they] were conscious willing and aware,” she said. “I have a past that I can’t change we all do.” She continued, “all I can do now is be a better me for myself my family and my future.”
The only part I don’t believe is that she was dating the men she robbed, but it occurred to me that perhaps Cardi was speaking about how she would never drug a guy and sexually assault him, that she was just drugging dudes and robbing them. Which I believe – Cardi wasn’t doing any of this for sexual kicks. She was probably talking about robbing the guys who thought that because she was a stripper, she was also a prostitute, so she hustled them, drugged them and stole their money. She’s also right that she’s never glorified this sh-t. I don’t know… everybody’s got a past.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
That’s part of “That Life”…
They’re called “Tricks” for a reason….
Pros are trying to trick the men out of money…by NOT providing the services they THINK they’re paying for…
she only drugged and robbed them so it’s fine ? Because she’s a woman ? I couldn’t see anyone being okay if I say Channing Tatum who used to strip said he drugged woman and stole money from them . She’s trash just llke anyone else who would do this .
# of crimes committed by men against women since the dawn of times: goes in the billions (and it s not slowing down)
# of crimes committed by women against men: A LOT LESS
-> Result: society mildly says ‘it s all very sad, what s for dinner?’
While the counter for crimes against women keep going up faster than lightspeed, the counter for crimes against men goes by 1 slow notch
-> Result: society is up in arms, ‘how dares she? what a monster!’
A crime is a crime, but never tell me public opinion reacts the same way and with the same harshness.
And on that specific crime, a john got robbed while he was trying to physically and sexually exploit the social and financial vulnerability of a woman?
Cry me a river…
Babco, but that doesn’t, and shouldn’t, excuse her behavior or any woman’s bad behavior. Women shouldn’t get an automatic pass for bad behavior just because of her gender.
The number of crimes committed against men by women sometimes goes underreported. Cuz machismo and stuff. What man wants to admit to being swindled or taken advantage of by a stripper? So they stay quiet. Listen I’m not necessarily disagreeing with you. The cards have definitely been stacked against women since the dawn of time and men have always had the advantage. I just think that’s its terrible when it happens to anyone regardless or race or gender etc and I wouldn’t give anyone a pass for drugging someone with the intent to incapacitate or make them docile enough to take advantage of. Either for sex or to steal from them. One may be harsher than the other but they’re still both crimes with someone trying to manipulate agency over someone else’s body/mind in order to take something from them.
Cardi B has committed a crime and made victims and should be punished. No doubt about that. That should be dealt by the justice system.
But I am talking about public opinion and how public discourse shapes narratives and reflects our biases.
So, before I make the effort to go out of my way to write a comment and judge her in public and therefore contribute to the pile of opinions that constitute public opinion, I am going to start by the REAL big picture and the millions of men who think nothing of routinely abusing, beating, raping, dismissing women, wives, partners, daughters, sisters, friends and strangers and have done so for centuries in a tacit acceptance we need to put an end to.
So I think I ll get to Cardi B by late 3578, at the earliest.
I think it’s too much to call her trash because of this. What she did was terrible but she IS owning it. She knows it wasn’t right, she has remorse and she found her way out of that life. She isn’t justifying what she did by explaining her reasons but there is always a reason behind actions like that and without having walked in her shoes, I don’t think we can judge. Everyone deserves a second chance and she’s done well to leave that life behind her.
Rose – I absolutely agree. When a man does this, he’s “canceled “. When Cardi B does the same, we say oh well, everybody has a past? I don’t think so. I can’t believe Celebitchy tried to justify this shit by saying the guys thought she was a prostitute so they deserve it. Say what now?!
She is pure TRASH, period. In fact, even before this news arose, I’ve never glimpsed/ heard a thing that I like about either her or any of her “music.” To think that young women actually look up to this lying, greedy, insipid, nasty THIEF makes me mad, and worried about what the morals of the youngest generations’ morals and values will be like. The fact that she calculatedly stole from other people, and is receiving no legal, mandatory punishment or for it, makes her look like like she got away with something that she felt was actually somehow morally owed to her. That’s a pathologically sick viewpoint—take what you want but don’t have, if you’re too poor to legally buy it.(Funny, I lived on food stamps growing up and there were even days my mom was too poor to buy needed things like larger shoes, yet she managed to survive with less, and w/out robbing,on her own. . I survived alone financially too, in the four years I worked my way through school. And Candi was a *stripper*—-come on, I know some of them, and just a few extra shows puts plenty of money in their pockets). They are NOT so poor they can’t “survive,” nor was Candy.) ..And, what is Candy’s gross attitudes about things like this teaching children and teenagers, about morality? That, since “it’s all in her past”, and b/c she got away w it, her actions are to be excused, even cheered? (And if a MALE celebrity would have done this??? Same rerponse you’d all have? Hmmmm? )I wonder why Celebitchy feels the need to report at all on this juvenile, shameless, remorseless, untalented, utterly insipid slag.
My husband had a horrible childhood, parents died before he was 10, thrown in orphanage (this was the 60s), lots of bad stuff. He has certainly made mistakes over the years but he made himself into an educated, productive person, great husband and father, by sheer hard work. Pretty sure he never drugged or robbed anyone.
@elsabecky: ‘She is pure TRASH, period. In fact, even before this news arose, I’ve never glimpsed/ heard a thing that I like about either her or any of her music…I wonder why Celebitchy feels the need to report at all on this juvenile, shameless, remorseless, untalented, utterly insipid slag.”
You and I both know damn well that had this been about a man from one or more marginalized groups talking about his criminal record, you would NOT feel free to come to this site, pajiba, Jezebel, the Root, or any other similar left-leaning site and call him any of the slurs that gay/bisexual/pansexual men, transgender men, men of color, or Jewish men are called. You just wouldn’t dare. You’d save that shit for your breitbart bot buddies, at least. This little rant of yours just beautifully proves some of the points that some of us are trying to make and obliterates any argument about messy men being held to a higher standard than or treated worse than messy women when they fuck up. Hopefully, just this once, your comment will be left up as proof. Thank U.
500%. I couldn’t put my finger on how to say this or why this was making me feel icky. Because I’m a Cardi superfan I wanted to be like, welll…but no, I cannot. This is f’ed up and gross. She’s never claimed to be a saint or a role model and everyone has a past and I’m viewing everything in a tunnel of our treasonous mobster government, but I find this bad all around. Still a fan, but…idk, not good. Oh well.
If Channing said that these women treated him like because he was a stripper he must also be a prostitute, I would be okay with him getting them drunk and taking their money – as long as he wasn’t also sleeping with them.
Wow… so when John’s “trick” prostitutes right back and rob them, we should just chalk it up to “part of that life” too? The cynicism in the world is getting crazy. She DRUGGED these men and put their lives in danger, that’s not ok.
Agreed. What if she drugged one of the men to rob them and they had an allergic reaction and died? Sorry, I cannot give her a pass. Illegal is illegal. Drugging someone for any reason is not ok – even if it is in the context of a prostitute/stripper and a john. She’s owning it – but it is still not defensible. Robbing someone of money (after you have incapacitated them) is illegal, period.
Cardi B has been trash from the get go and now admitted to actual crimes.
She called dark skinned black women roaches, paid to gave people beaten up, and admits to drugging and robbing men.
But people are trying to defend her despite everything.
I agree! I don’t get it.
It’s incredibly hard to break the cycle of poverty in America. Cardi did what she felt she had to in order to get ahead. She owns her past and isn’t proud of it. I think her story provides a lot of insight into the options poor women of color face when it comes to pulling up their bootstraps.
@Megan if we start justifying crimes on the grounds of poverty, society would have a very serious problem. She should be held accountable like anyone else would.
Poverty is a real issue everywhere. No matter what there are legitimate options to get ahead.
Now if any of the men she drugged and robbed step forward I hope people support them.
Nene – I think you missed my point. In Cardi’s view, crime looked like her best option, and arguably, it was. That says as much about the society we created as it does about Cardi.
You wouldn’t be so understanding if a man had drugged and robbed women, I bet. I’m certain you wouldn’t write it off as trying to escape poverty like you’ve done for Cardi. Forget stealing, drugging someone is one of the biggest violations I can imagine. Taking away their awareness so you can do whatever you want to them or their property…it’s absolutely disgusting.
Shrute – I am not condoning her behavior I am simply looking at the bigger picture of her circumstances.
All over the world there are people who live in poverty, yet most don’t go around causing harm to others.
It’s not helpful to extrapolate that woc in general victimize others to get by. Woc have faced horrible racism but for generations and in spite of it have taken jobs and worked long hours to support their families.
Cardi B may have had a tragic life and I don’t know the circumstances. We should be sympathetic but it’s not necessary to rationalize a bad thing.
Just because she lived in poverty (like millions of others around the world) doesn’t excuse her behavior. A crime is a crime whether you’re a man, woman, white, black, doesn’t matter.
@megan, drugging and stealing is never justified under any circumstances. I hope some of the men she did this to come out so she can be jailed.
Contexualization is not justification. Like if Taylor Swift said she did this, the context would be about how she is some over-privileged thrill seeker. If there are so many ways out of poverty, why are millions still living in poverty?
Megan I get what you’re saying; I don’t think you’re justifying it at all. Just wanted to let you know someone got the point you were trying to make 🙂
Thank you 😃😀😀
I get Megan’s point but don’t agree with it.
Yeah, I grew up poor with a teen mom and alcoholic/drug addict father. I managed to break the cycle without drugging and robbing people so sorry but she doesn’t get a pass for felonious acts just because she happened to be poor.
This really needs to die: Cardi DID NOT call dark-skinned black women roaches. She called HERSELF a roach.
Ding ding ding. Cardi is gross and terrible and awful. Did we say that Kevin Hart just “had a past” when his homophobic tweets came out? James Gunn? Liam Neeson? Kanye West? The list goes on and on. All swiftly condemned. Why is Cardi being given a pass? Because she’s “cool”?
She’s a terrible, messy person and does not get a pass for consistently being awful. Imagine if she was a man and said this. We’d drag him to hell. The narrative around this is so disturbing. Yuck yuck yuck.
Sure but how many male rappers have we not cancelled despite commiting crimes? We either need to cancel everyone or no one.
So if you read further down I’ve addressed this. I do not listen to that shit for this reason. For me, everyone gets held accountable, everyone gets cancelled. Full stop.
BroodyTrudy, spot on! Calling it like is. Thank you! If a man said this ladies, lets be real we’d cancel them fast. Violent crime was her best option? COME ON! This is inexcusable. Lots of people have it very rough and don’t resort to drugging and robbing people. Why is Cardi so different that it was her best option? Shes obviously intelligent. This was pure laziness and lack of basic human decency on her part.
The drugging part bothers me more than the theft, although both are wrong. What is this hold that she has on people? That’s not cool in any way shape or form.
We live in a very hypocritical society. I am shocked by a lot of these comments defending her. You think Pepsi is going to drop her? I doubt it.
We were just talking about this ten minutes ago in my office. All of the women were saying, who cares, it’s in her past, but the one guy talking about it said Cardi is cancelled. Our response to our male co-worker? We told him to sit down. Hahahaha
I find this unsettling. would you still say the same thing if a man was drugging and robbing women?
Were the women going to watch the man at a strip club, trying to talk the man into having sex with them for money? Then get drugged and robbed? It’s not the same. Doesn’t mean it’s not bad. But it’s not equivalent.
Emily, if Channing Tatum admitted to doing the same thing, I wouldn’t find it funny but horrific. In any event, I don’t think the facts before this crime, mitigate the end result of getting drugged and robbed
@emily, that’s victim blaming. That’s like saying a rape victim was wearing slutty clothes and was wasted at a club, no wonder she got raped. Going to a strip club us legal, women willingly work there. Those men did not consent to being drugged and raped. What she did was inexcusable. Oh and btw, i cocktailed at a strip club for a year and a half while in college. A lot of strippers come up w a sob story about why they had to work there for the suckers who came in. Get better tips that way.
Sometimes it seems like people are so feverishly desperate to prove that women can be just as evil as the worst men (in this case, R. Kelly, Harvey Weinstein, Bryan Singer, Donald Trump, Roman Polanski, etc. are the men she’s being compared to) that they don’t even bother to make sure that the woman’s bad behavior actually is equal to the male behavior they’re comparing it to. A woman absolutely 100% be just as vile as a bad man, no question. But in their rush to ‘own the libs/feminists’ or out-woke the so-called ‘defenders’, some people are forgetting that drugging and robbing /= drugging and RAPING. Pretending that the two are equal is the same as rightwing rape apologists comparing sexual abuse to stealing property, which is a pretty dehumanizing way to look at women and violence against women.
THANK YOU! Agreed with all you’ve said 100%. The way people react to this story really shows their asses as far as their racism and sexism.
This comment hits every note. Thank you.
Cardi has lived her entire life in the post-Reagan, Clinton, Bush slashes to the social safety net and the defunding of education and educational support programs. There are far fewer opportunities to level the playing field in today’s society. When I went to college, the max Pell grant was $2,200, which was a sizeable chunk of the $5,000 tutition. Today, in-state tutition at my alma mater is $34,000 and the max Pell grant is around $6,100.
A burglar breaks into my home and drugs/robs me of all my belongings, I do not expect said burglar to explain to a judge how much his Pell grant was. You cannot excuse Cardi B’s behavior because she had a hard life without looking foolish.
@ TabithaStevens
100% agree with you. Poverty is not an excuse for unlawful disgusting behavior. One of Cardi’s alleged victims has spoken up. His name is Kevin Smith. Interesting accounts of his story can be googled if anyone wants to read it.
@TabithaStevens: Your comment must have went to the wrong place, because nowhere did I say Cardi’s hard life excuses her drugging someone or stealing from them.
Abuse is a crime, no matter the gender.
Why would anybody find it funny?
I don’t know how you can say “no matter the gender” when we know that in terms of abuse and violence that gender absolutely matters–very much so. If gender didn’t matter then women wouldn’t overwhelmingly be victims of male violence.
What kind of straw man is this Kitten? Aren is saying if abuse is carried out be it by male or female it is still wrong and still abuse. Is that incorrect?
Yeah, I’m pretty baffled by a lot of the comments here overlooking the shared illegality of this transactional situation. Yeah, I agree that what she did was wrong, but her victims were engaging in illegal behavior by purchasing sex with women who have no legal framework in place to protect their sexual industry. Unfortunately, when you choose to engage in a criminalized environment, you sometimes encounter the dangers of the criminal element. That’s a huge f*cking difference from, say, men drugging and raping women that they met at a bar.
Amazing how only women carry the burden of responsibility for their risky sexual decisions, eh?
This is exactly what they talk about in that new movie (Hustlers, is it called?) with JLo and all them. It’s based on an article in The Cut about this ring of women who did it professionally and every night. They would steal thousands, tens of thousands from one guy in one day. It sounds like Cardi wasn’t part of anything like that, it was small-time.
I highly recommend the article. Long read but absolutely worth it:
https://www.thecut.com/2015/12/robin-hood-strippers-scores-c-v-r.html
Thank you for linking this @savu ~
This is a very informative article about what these women did, and is subsequently now being made into a movie .
If I’m not mistaken, isn’t Cardi B playing some role in this film?
If she is playing a part in this film it explains why she is talking about this now
Sure, everyone does have a past. I have red-faced memories from much milder exploits that certainly didn’t involve robbery.
But let’s switch this scenario round.
Bill Cosby – rightly – was indicted for drugging women. Drugging anyone against their consent and making off with the content of their wallets is a moral and legal crime of enormous proportions. If a man were to admit he’d indulged in the same behaviour he wouldn’t be feted for proudly hustling his way out of obscurity. He’d be posing for his mug shot.
This does #MeToo, feminism and equality absolutely no favours at all, and she has no right whatsoever to be self-righteous.
#Metoo is about rape, not theft. Stealing, in and of itself is not a feminist issue. If Bill Cosby had just drugged and stolen money/jewelry from women, this would be a good comparison and a valid example of ‘reverse discrimination’.
Drugging is still an illegal, violating, and unethical behavior though, no matter who does it. Stealing is still illegal and wrong too.
well…
1) bill cosby wasn’t indicted for drugging women. he was indicted for RAPING women while drugged. there is a huge difference and you are being too cute by half to suggest there isn’t. furthermore, he was credibly accused for over 30 years and was not prosecuted until he was elderly after a lifetime of raping people.
2) men routinely get away with brazen crimes worse than robbery. snoop dogg was tried for murder 20 years ago and society treats him like their fun goofy uncle. tupac shot people with intent to kill, went to prison for RAPE, sold drugs, assaulted women and we treat him like a poet laureate’s b/c he wrote a song about loving his mom. and white men literally can walk into public places and shoot 50 people the NYT will write an article about how we should have compassion for them.
3) she’s not being self righteous. she’s is plainly admitting it was wrong .
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ this
They’re all assholes and she’s still wrong for doing this. No excuse
You’re absolutely right Lizzie! Cardi B never once said she was proud of what she had done nor was she bragging about doing it. I don’t think her response to this situation resurfacing again was self righteous in any way. Plus she clearly states what she did was wrong.
It’s not right no matter who does it. It’s not right even though there is no sexual element. Drugging people without their consent is just wrong every time.
This.
Thank you!! Putting a drug into someone’s body without their knowledge or consent is disgusting. Let’s not even get into how dangerous it can be if the person has an adverse reaction to the drug, or is trying to stay clean. It’s still a violation of someone’s body. And a violation by stealing from them on top of that. You are literally plying them with drugs to make them hazy or loopy so you can have your way with them. In the case it’s to rob them. No, it’s not as awful as rape, but it’s still a crappy and illegal thing to do to someone.
Now imagine that man wakes up after Cardi has drugged him and stole his money. He gets in to his car and drives home…still “high” he hits and kills someone. Who the f*ck is to blame for that? She drugged him, but he drove home “high”. It’s so insane she would stoop to that level for money. Plenty of poor woc struggle and make ends meet without having to do such horrible things. Also, I guess Karma isn’t real. Drug and rob men, brag about it, and then years later become rich and famous. Ok then.
This should go without saying, but of course a poor woman, regardless of race, sexual orientation, or any other factor, who drugs people to rob them is no better than a poor man the same age as her who does the same thing. Neither is acceptable at all. This should be clear. Both should be legally accountable for it when caught, should learn their lesson, get their shit together, have remorse, and not repeat the toxic and dangerous behavior. Do better. This is not behavior that makes Cardi some kind of bad bitch role model or anything like that, it’s behavior that she should not repeat or glorify (which I don’t think she’s doing). I’m not sure why people assume everyone would be angrier if a formerly poor male celebrity in the same boats as her did the same thing- for me, and probably for a lot of others here, the reaction would be the same. For people saying men get less of a pass for the stealing aspect too, operation Varsity Blues kind of disproves that. Felicity and Lori are rightfully being called out just as a man would for behavior that counts as stealing from others.
Turning this into a ‘sexism against middle-aged men’ issue or a Harvey Weinstein/R Kelly situation is still bullshit, as is using it as a shield for other Maga /Voice for Men/Bible-thumper talking points, as is attempting to pressure or coerce everybody else to approach cancelling in the exact same way you do, every time, without any other discussion to be had, Because Wokeness. Calling out some of that fuckery is not the same as excusing what Cardi B did here, and if it turns out that she did more than drugging and robbing, she’s just as permanently cancelled as anybody else who has drugged and sexually assaulted someone. I don’t know yet though, because people are saying there’s been an important update to this story and I haven’t gotten a chance to look at it yet.
I mean, Jay-Z has albums about his former dealer days. Biggie made no secret of his dealing past. Hustling isn’t always legal.
We could start a conversation about how a lack of investment in public education coupled with racist attitudes about keeping black and brown people out of “white” neighborhoods over the past century has created a cycle of poverty for POC, but I haven’t had enough coffee.
That conversation would be too much like right…..
Right, Lala? Nobody wants to look at the rot beneath the surface that is decades of white male politicians creating and continuing policies designed to keep POC “in their place.” This country has set black and brown people up to fail.
nothing like isolating people, forcing them to survive by under a different set of rules and then chastise them when they admit it.
And there we have it. You can’t blame her for playing one of the few games in town that were open to her.
Literally millions of people work low paying jobs. There are plenty of options.
Oh, so she should have just worked at McDonald’s or cleaning toilets and been grateful for the opportunity?
The low paying jobs are not meant to sustain a living, but we’ve pigeonholed certain demographic groups into working them as their only option and you can’t support yourself on minimum wage. Try getting first, last, and security deposit together on a Target cashier paycheck.
I can. I can blame her. My sister-in-law was a low paid, undervalued nurse’s assistant before going back to school and becoming an RN. I went to school with a girl who worked two waitressing jobs and occasionally bartended to support her family. She’s a legal secretary now and attends law school at night.
I don’t judge dancers or sex workers. I can and do judge the hell out of Cardi.
Kittycat – you missed the news cycle about how there is literally not one single city in America where a person working full time at minimum wage can afford a two bedroom apartment. Cardi could have kept bagging groceries and worrying from one day to the next if she going to pay her rent, or buy food, or buy medicine she needs to stay alive.
Stop. As someone who grew up in a similar background as Cardi, child of immigrant, non-English speaking parents, living in a very low income development during a time when crime was at its worst in NYC, none of the women I personally knew or associated with from my same circle, neighborhood and financial background ever took it down to the level to act this way. And I have friends all over the 5 boroughs. None of us were saints, maybe one or two went into stripping, but none of them were in gangs and robbing folks. They may have shop-lifted from a department or grocery store at times, but never did any type of schemes where you drug and take from another idividual, slash or jump other girls. There was always a code. We looked down and admonished anyone who even talked about “pulling a herb”, which was our slang for taking things by force, whether by jumping them, setting them up or drugging them, etc. As for them men in our area, sure a handful did deal and did time, but no one made excuses for anyone’s destructive behavior. Just because you’re poor, doesn’t mean you don’t have morals or standards.
@enn. You bet your AS* she should’ve worked a low paying job rather than steal. (And FYI, some of those do let you advance up the ladder.) Ask yourself, what would you have your daughter/neice do ??
So you’re saying poverty is a valid excuse for drugging and robbing people? Thank goodness most poor people don’t do this.
I grew up dirt poor, single parent, welfare, abuse, the whole shebang. Never once did I resort to thievery or violence or assault to feed or support myself. I took that grocery job and ran with it. No, the money didn’t roll in quick. But I made do and never hurt anyone else for my own gain.
People need to address the underlying reasons that people feel the need to do this. No doubt. But in the end, you always have a choice.
Yes. We could talk about why people are forced to do these things and why it’s okay for men to glorify it, but….that would be hard.
But it’s not. Literally for decades people have been questioning the glorification of drug use, dealing, robbery, murdering, etc… in the use of music or lifestyle. This is not a new or difficult conversation.
THIS!!!! +1 to ENN, Lala and Lizzie. We’re talking about a woman who was in the rap game. Her vision her goals her dream and passion was in the RAP GAME. She only knew, listened and ever saw men succeed doing crimes worse than her. As per her statement, she did what she thought she had to do to survive. You can say she could have worked three jobs, become a nurse, teacher whatever all you want but she would have probably failed at all of that. It’s not in her wheelhouse.
JFK father was a prohibition bootlegger. Are we thinking that was a victim less crime? All that money and generational wealth amassed without one person being a victim of some sort of crime? Especially now, we know that POC and POC women specifically have to play the game correctly or not at all. Read The Cut article someone linked here. And maybe because I know these women, I grew up with these women. Some of us can scrap and make it out and be happy with our little lives and others don’t have that support. I didn’t do it alone.
I can’t explain it further than I feel deep compassion and understanding for women who resort to this grey area of sex work (“tricks”). Especially while Leonardo Decaprio makes millions portraying real conmen who are white, and make livings talking about the crimes they’ve committed.
Omg what ? You are comparing Leo who is a actor, you know doing his job acting in a movie to drugging and robbing someone?
lol okay sure ..
And I’m going to bet that they weren’t slipping their drugs on people without their knowledge. I get that she probably felt like she had no other options, and it involves a wider discussion on poverty as a whole. BUT. She could have killed someone. You can’t just go around giving people drugs without their knowledge. That’s SO dangerous.
And yes – there are plenty of people who have done worse things. But my god, that doesn’t make what she did okay. Just because men get a pass from SOME people doesn’t mean she shouldn’t get criticized for this.
You’re the absolute Queen of whataboutism
To whom are you addressing this comment?
I don’t equate being a dealer as the same as drugging someone unwittingly then robbing them. One is a conscious choice, the other is not. I understand fighting to pull yourself up … but this is messy AF.
Something said in a song is not the same as confessing it live on video…. Jay-z admitted to selling drugs as a teen/ young man. He didn’t particularly glamorize that fact either. I truly don’t understand this rush to justify this mess. None of it is ok. Do I think she sexually assulted these men, nope; but it’s not ok. We can’t just say oh she was young, oh she was poor, etc. There are plenty of poor, young people in this world who work, go to school, and whatever else.
Always black and brown people. White people never break laws.
@Megan – ‘Cardi could have kept bagging groceries and worrying from one day to the next if she going to pay her rent, or buy food, or buy medicine she needs to stay alive.’ So many people work low-paying jobs and work hard to make a life for themselves. I a glad Cardi didn’t shoot someone as I wouldn’t want to read your defense of that particular behavior.
@Tabitha – Do you think people enjoy being low paid? Because those lives they make for themselves are shorter and sicker than middle class lives because of a lack of access to healthcare, decreased access to healthy food, jobs requiring labor that takes a toll on the body, the constant stress of living hand to mouth, and, for far too many, the constant stress of racism. You act like living in poverty is a life choice people make and we should accept it.
You do realize that black women have cleaned houses, cooked food and raised babies. Then went home and repeated these jobs for their OWN families? Do you think they enjoyed it? No. Black people are survivors. Most of us work and live honestly. Stop with your vision of black people living in the street, hooking and drugging. There are middle and upper class black people. There are people living in poverty but they are not all black. Give it a rest. You know nothing about POC except the ones you see on television but I won’t be able to convince you of this.
@TabithaStevens Thank you!
Tabitha – I worked for a community development corporation in Anacostia, DC before I started my own company. At that time DC was too broke and too dysfunctional to even pick up the trash on a regular basis. My job was to connect community leaders with potential funders and then support them in grant writing and reporting to get the services middle class people take for granted.
Also, I never used the word black. The GI bill got my parents out of rural poverty but most of aunts, uncles and cousins remain in poverty. Half are opioid addicts and the other half are in jail or on parole for robbery or hooking for drug money.
For me, drugging someone without their consent is a very different type of crime than dealing drugs, or even just outright violence. I find it much more disgusting and reprehensible, and similar in spirit to an act of rape. The robbery aspect of it is whatever. Rob shitty men.
Although, her follow up statement about it really confuses the question of consent. She says “they knew what I was doing”? I don’t really believe her.
How many men have been “cancelled” (God, how I hate that term)! for things they’ve done in the past, many of which were not crimes but saying or doing misogynistic things. It would be hypocritical not to hold her up to the same standard, or does she get a pass because she was a poor WOC? Don’t pile on me, just asking.
How can a man be “cancelled” when THEY RUN EVERYTHANG?
And a WOC never gets a pass on ANYTHING…wrong or right…so the world is gonna do what it ALWAYS does….
This, to everything Lala said. It’s an entire word.
When was the last time a man was cancelled by the entire left for theft though?
If you want to cancel her for her criminal history, you’re well within your rights. Honestly, this is the type of thing that does make me uneasy about Cardi B and jumping fully aboard the love train. It’s fine to cancel her, but give others space to express more than one reaction to her than performative outrage based on what the situation calls for. I think that healthy balance is what’s missing from cancel culture online- especially when talking about problematic woc, white women, and Lgbt women, sometimes.
It’s not so much the theft.It’s the drugging of people to do it ,that could kill someone .
@rose: I don’t think that anyone is saying that it is right; we are saying that the circumstances are different. This is street hustle where she would have maybe been homeless or hungry, and the need to survive can make you do dumb things. This is a crime, yes, but I would not equate this with me too or surviving R Kelly like people are attempting to do. These ” Johns” that were drug probably did not report the incidents because they had things to hide as well. I hear tales of strippers going to parties to dance and being raped and beaten; I’m glad that she made it out alive maybe she can help someone else who is in her old position. I also how the men are ok. It’s an unfortunate situation all around.
when channing tatum was a stripper was anyone digging up dirt on how he duped women out of money? my good friend stripped at private parties when we were in college and the things women did to him were wild and they would give him literal stacks of money for the pleasure and it was my understanding that it went with the “party” territory.
i’m asking b/c i feel like his whole story was reported positively with two movies and a broadway show but a former female stripper is honest and gets dragged to hell over it.
Basically……..
Umm because he didn’t drug and steal money from them ? Can you not see the difference?
sex work is complicated rose…
Rose, it’s like talking to a brick wall right now…
Agree with Sarah B and Rose. Bet this dick bait flick, Hustlers, won’t feature JLo drugging and robbing men in hotel rooms. How crappy is this movie going to be anyway???
YES! 100%!
I’m not saying drugging anyone is ever cool, but robbery and rape are not even in the same hemisphere of crimes.
And Cardi to me is a perfect example of someone who dug themselves out of that life and can now honestly talk about it, the challenges, the regrets, everything. That’s a role model people need. Not someone perfect but someone who’s done the bad sh*t, and knows how to come out clean on the other side.
In no way is Cardi a ‘Role Model’ who ‘came out clean’ on the other side. She is trash and she makes it worse by reminding us of it everyday.
Yeah I’ve thought before about how tatum didn’t get any shit for being a male stripper but a woman certainly would.
This is not about stripping – this is about the drugging & stealing. Did Channing drug women & stole from them?
I don’t understand why people keep giving Cardi B a pass on horrible behavior. Even in her apology/statement she is saying that it is something that she felt she needed to do because she was poor. She has repeatedly shown herself to be violent but because people think she is talented, funny or agree with her political staments they give her a pass.
Because men are given a pass for much worse. Especially in the music industry. And society comes down much harder on black women and women in general.
No ..no not really . Men get canceled because of stupid jokes on twitter or something dumb said years ago.
Women are cancelled over those things too though, so…..?
Rose, please, tell me what men who aren’t rapist have been permanently cancelled? Even some who are rapists make a come back.
@Megan Chris Hardwick, James Gunn… Hell Liam Neeson! Like there have been plenty of guys in the last year or so that have been “canceled” or black balled for stuff they said or did that had nothing with them being or accused of sexually assaulting anyone.
Chris Hardwick has a documentary in production. James Gunn was re-hired for Guardians of the Galaxy, and Liam Neeson is in the Men in Black reboot. Maybe I don’t understand the definition of black-balled.
@Megan you asked for names of men who were “canceled”, who had not committed rape…. I gave you examples. The initial outrage for each man was for them to be canceled. They’re current job situation is unrelated. Time passes, people forget, people move on. That doesn’t negate the original call for them to lose jobs, be cancelled. So if James Gunn is not an example… why was he fired from Guardians in the first place? Why did Kevin Hart drop out of doing the Oscars? Men in Black 4 was already filmed and has a summer release date before the controversy happened.
@Iboogi I believe is used the word permanently. These men endured a few weeks of discomfort and are right back to making a bunch of money. Kevin Hart quit the Oscars gig because they asked him to apologize for his homophobic tweets and he didn’t want to. But not to worry, Ellen promptly booked him to let us all know what a swell guy he his.
@Megan Cardi B hasn’t been permanently “canceled” either. Very few people are “permanently canceled”. As I said people forget, people move on. Kevin Hart did apologize…. more than once, and before his tweets were exposed. He didn’t want to apologize because he had already apologized. It has not been a few weeks of discomfort, and there are plenty more I didn’t even mention. The real issue is the desire to defend Cardi B no matter what she does. Me too isn’t just about rape… or at least it wasn’t at the height of it being in the news…. but now we want to split hairs. ok cool
Iboogi – who here is defending Cardi? Seriously, not one single person has defended her. Some, like me, have sympathy that she felt like committing crimes was her best way out of poverty because I have seen what deeply entrench poverty looks like in the US and aboard. It isn’t just about money. It’s about lack of access to quality education, lack of access to family support services, persistent violent crime, over policing that puts hard working people in jail for not being able to pay parking tickets. Imagine growing up in a house where your bedroom is a mattress on the floor with no sheets, blankets, or pillows. I’ve been in that apartment and seen it for myself.
@Megan girl please… plenty are defending her. I don’t need an education on the struggle. I’m an American woman of color. I had some privilege growing up when being middle class meant something. I lost both of my parents by my mid 20’s and had to learn how to fend for myself. I deal with racism on a daily, hourly basis. I worked my butt off during the economic crisis of 2008, only to barely have money for food, or gas to even get to work. I did not start hooking, robbing, or drugging folks to get by. In times of need some people turn to prostitution, that’s fine; but drugging and robbing ain’t it girl.
@lboogi
Good for you, that is a great accomplishment. I don’t understand all the people defending Cardi B. If anyone has watched any of her live streams you will know she has spoken about her past a lot. In one video she even said she started stripping at age 18 and by age 19 she already had her own apartment, expensive shoes, etc, and a BOOB JOB. Is that struggling? Cardi became obsessed with money, she wanted more and quickly and easily…drugging and robbing men was her way to do this. She is disgusting and no one should feel sorry for her. She is a criminal. Why are people making excuses for her? I just don’t get it.
@ME thank you. I forgot to mention that the reason this video surfaced largely due to her defamation lawsuit against a youtuber. In that lawsuit she claims that she was never involved in prostitution, and never used drugs. People who remembered her lives, brought out this video and others as examples.
Im not defending her past actions – and neither is she. I say if people have a problem with HER criminal past make sure you turn off all the other rappers you like – including Nicki who used to jack cars, Jay Z who sold and trafficked drugs…I can go on
Yes. I do think Nicki, Jay-Z everyone who has committed crimes should be held responsible.
In what way would you hold them responsible? The statute of limitations have long since passed on their crimes.
Jay-Z doesn’t talk about his past every day. Cardi brings up her messy life almost daily because she wants a line on TMZ. She has no respect for herself but feels everyone should respect her.
If people are going to cancel her, then cancel about 90% of the rappers out there currently. Kodak Black has a sexual assault case coming yet he continues to get play on the airwaves. He’s also said disparaging things saying he doesn’t want dark skinned women and that he prefers light skinned women. Many (male) rappers have bragged about robbing, hustling, shooting people in their lyrics. What she did is criminal but not any different than what other male rappers openly brag about.
Just here for the world class gymnasts people will become trying to defend Cardi. I know this isn’t remotely similar but people cancelled (I also hate that word) Liam Neeson for thinking about killing someone. Other men have been cancelled because of things they have said in the past, not even acted acted upon (Kevin Hart). But suddenly everybody has a past? A lot of us like to think we are woke and feminists and all that but honestly its starting to seem like a very narrow minded group.
The floor routines are amazing.
You’re really trying it today, Kittycat.
Human beings are huge hypocrites as a rule. Our empathy almost always is with the party we most identify with. Then we make up reasons why it’s ok after.
For people who see the world as black and white, nuance is nonexistent.
I’m impressed but not surprised. The desperation is real.
@Enn Just living my best life
I see desperation but I am not impressed at all.
Yup if Channing Tatum(only example I can think of a famous man who stripped ) said “ oh yeah I used to drug and rob woman “ people would be calling for his head . But with Cardi it’s all “oh haha you go girl and get that money “
I don’t get it .
Yes, we can’t hide behind a double standard of “well, men have run the world so ha ha ha”. She’s a flawed human being for sure, but we can’t say women have always been underdogs so drugging and robbing men is okay. It’s okay to admit that she might not be the shiny unicorn heroine.
MJ, Neeson said that he was looking for a random “black bastard” to kill in retaliation for the horrific violation of his friend. Basically just wanting to murder any black man who crossed his path.
Kevin Hart’s tweets are incredibly problematic and representative of a certain mindset within the black community where homosexuality is something to be beaten out of a gay man. Black gay men receive some of the most horrible vitriol. I’ve had in depth convos about this with friends and colleagues who are both black and gay.
I’m not connecting any more dots for you.
Still not worse than actually drugging and robbing someone though. I mean yeah it’s awful and yes they should be “canceled “ because I don’t support anyone like who talks like that . But if they are canceled for saying incredibly problematic things she should be also because what she did is so dangerous,I mean drugging someone can kill them .
So you just chose to skip over the part that said this isn’t remotely similar. But sure she was just drUgging and robbing people so nothing to see here. And why exactly is the hypothetical black and gay person not physically attacked worthy of more outrage than actual people that Cardi actually drugged and robbed? Who are these gatekeepers who get to decide?
So now individuals are not even allowed to feel that plotting a racist hate crime- murder of someone because of their skin color- is worse than drugging someone to rob them? Damn. Learn something new every day.
Liam Neeson was driven by racism, Cardi was driven by poverty. Both wrong but not even remotely similar. Neeson is far from canceled. He will undoubtedly make millions from the forthcoming Men in Black reboot.
Cardi was driven by greed. Millions of people live in poverty and don’t commit crimes. Where do you get this idea?
@Tabitha – Please take some time to educate yourself about the realities of people who grow up in poverty. They do not live a middle class life with less money.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2014/04/28/the-unequal-burden-of-crime-and-incarceration-on-americas-poor/
@Megan. I am a black female whose ancestors worked hard to get ahead. No pimps or drug dealers. My family includes physicians, teachers, military officers, social workers, accountants…that is the short list. I do not need you to define what we are.
Tabitha-just because you’re black doesn’t mean you aren’t classist AF. All your comments on this thread are dripping with contempt for poor people. Also, Megan’s link is about poverty ACROSS racial lines so I don’t see why you felt the need to state your race and list the jobs that your family members hold?
Soooooo many Gold Medalists to choose from
Cosby’s defenders also said leave him alone because the past was the past.
Yeah, because serial rape is just like robbery.
I love her music but I won’t be listening to it anymore. The past is the past right? Tell that to Kevin Hart who was cancelled for a tweet, tell that to Bill Cosby.
did someone ring a the cosby bell that lets all his stans know to come out of the woodwork and do their thing? go away.
It really looks that way. This whataboutism for a man who RAPED several women is disgusting, but typical.
Are y’all just now finding out Cardi B was in a gang? When she’s screaming “Gang, gang, gang” in her number #1 hits, did folks think it was just a catchy hook? She is/was a Blood. This is what gangsters do. Thankfully, she no longer participates in these activities.
I’m not here for the moral outrage over how men soliciting prostitution aka tried to engage in a crime that treats women as a commodity instead found themselves robbed.
Survivors? That’s a damned insult.
It doesn’t make Cardi right but these dudes aren’t innocents. They are Johns.
thank you
You realize drugging someone could possibly kill them right ? So yeah it’s a something pretty terrible she did .
I didn’t say it wasn’t terrible.
I said you have men looking to engage in prostitution, probably not for the first time, who are upset that instead of getting the sex they were paying for illegally, got a very risky nap.
I’d be interested to know how much she stole from them and if it was the same amount they were willing to pay for sex.
The people here saying all rappers should be cancelled should go on and never bop to those songs and live their lives. If you don’t understand the complexity of the decisions of underprivileged, marginalized sex work, nor THE RAP WORLD. then you won’t understand ANY OF THIS.
An imperfect victim can still be a victim. Prostitution itself may be illegal, but in the case of two adults agreeing to exchange money for sex, it is what it is. When one of the individuals in that scenario take it upon themselves to drug the other for the purpose of stealing from them, that still makes the other a victim of a crime. They are administering a drug to them without their knowledge or consent for the express and intentional purpose of taking something without permission whether it’s the John or the sex worker. You may not like the victim, but they are still a victim.
An imperfect victim can absolutely still be a victim. The problem is, people won’t remember that the next time something misogynistic or racist is being discussed in relation to Cardi B. They’ll derail with, “But this one did bad things, so if you criticize anything misogynistic or racist related to her, you must be a female stan glorifying the fact that she stole and drugged someone” or some other common bullshit.
None of her Johns ever pressed charges which makes me wonder how much she really did this or if it is part of the game and Johns know the risks.
@ Megan
Those men would have been too embarrassed to report it. That’s why it really is the “perfect crime” as they say.
Can you point out where she said she was pretending to be so prostitute? I see this as her being picked up in a bar or club and then drugging and robbing the men. This is something that happens all the time.
Maybe she is making this whole story up because she wants publicity at any cost.
+
Sex work is legitimate work. It is an exchange of goods and services. People should be allowed to buy and sell sex without shame or fear. That includes men who want to pay women for sex. They don’t deserve to be drugged without their consent because they were interested in buying sex. WTH is wrong with you.
She’s a gangster rapper. What did y’all expect from her? LoL dudes talk about gang violence in most of those songs but this is an issue. 🤣
The response in here is exactly as I expected it to be.
Everyone please listen to the podcast Criminal’s Lottery episode. ITS ANOTHER EXAMPLE of what POC (in this story POC woman) had to do to survive in a world made up of different rules for her. This is so much more than just what Cardi is saying.
I am a woman of color. I am an engineer. Worked double shifts to pay tuition. Took double the number of years to graduate from college because I was working seven days a week. My co-workers attended my graduation and I attended theirs when they earned their degrees. This is a typical story for women of color, young and old. None of us hooked or drugged men, hit them over the head and stole their stuff. Please do not equate all POC with Cardi’s behavior – it is insulting.
As I mentioned, please listen to the podcast. It contextualizes so much of the larger conversation and response seen here. Or not. Do whatever you want.
Cardi is a thug and is atypical of the average woman of color. Get over it.
Oh please, I am black and so are all my relatives and most of my friends, and Cardi sure as hell doesn’t represent any of us. What she did was reprehensible. End of story.
i like her more for owning this.
What! She could’ve have hurt someone! She could’ve accidentally killed someone! If someone credible comes forward saying that she drugged him, guess what happens? She is still within the statue of limitations for the crime! She could be arrested! This isn’t feminism, this is not about poverty or sex work! This is about robbery and drugs and its not acceptable nor is it all right.
Well she drugged them and left. How do we really know the men were all ok after? We don’t. The men would have been too embarrassed to report it.
i didn’t say it was right. but not all people have the ability to react “appropriately” to oppression. i think i would probably do the same thing if i were in her shoes.
No sorry that is INSANE. If a man said the same thing, his career would be over. She didn’t need to “drug guys and rob them” to survive. That’s f*cking bullsh*t and she shouldn’t get a pass.
Like insane is an understatement.
Sorry, but LOTS of men have said this – most rappers admit to assault, dealing, stealing, and even murder and sexual assault before they hit it big. And their careers are FAR from over. Just ask jay Z.
And for those above comparing to Cosby, don’t even go there:
1. Cosby raped people, not just robbed them
2. Cosby did it well after his career took off – it’s not like he didn’t have options
3. Cosby never regretted his actions
Night and day folks.
Some people in this thread are being very obvious on how they view poor, WOC with their whataboutism. I not engaging in this B.S. today.
Thank you. I keep looking for the right term, and whataboutism is it.
❤️❤️❤️❤️
I am glad others picked up on this.
Yeah. I grew up black and poor in the Midwest. I don’t know a single person who resorted to drugging and robbing people to support themselves. People making excuses for Cardi are typical of paternalistic (white) liberalism these days. Far too many people are too quick to associate poverty with violence or a violent nature; and they don’t even realize it!
Cardi lucked out. Her story could have just as easily if not even more easily ended up with her dead or in jail.
Non consensual drugging is a crime punishable up to five years in my state! The point that some of you are missing is that drugging can kill someone! She could have overdosed someone, that person could have an allergic reaction! This is a serious matter and it shouldn’t be trivialized! She confessed to this and we all have the right to “cancel” anyone who’s behavior is abhorrent to us!
Yes, but if you don’t cancel EVERYONE with the same past, then you are a hypocrite.
Have you cancelled 95% of rappers out there? Including Jay-z, Nicki Minaj, etc?
If yes, then yes you have the right to cancel Cardi.
If no, then you still have the right, but you are a hypocrite.
Jay Z went to prison. Nicki Minaj was arrested and went to jail! As did Kodak Black, 69, Lil Kim, Foxxy Brown, and a plethora of other rappers! Some at the height of success! If you break the law and you get caught you go to jail! So stop with the false equivalency! Nobody gets a pass for law breaking! She was the one incriminating herself and I am supposed to pat her on her head and say there there, you poor woman we excuse you? This woman was arrested just last year for assault! So yeah, i can safely say that consumers of her products can cancel her and anyone else if they feel the need to!
@HilaryRose@29
Thank you for making valid points in the midst of this sea of b*llshite!
Last thing I’m saying on this. If you have morals you have morals. They don’t change because other people have been getting away with the same stuff for longer. They don’t change because because you are a man or a woman or black or white. They certainly don’t change because you are poor. And its demeaning to a lot of poor people who have managed to live honest lives without losing their morals to say otherwise.
Thank you.
100% agree. So many people have worked 3 or 4 jobs to survive. I come from an immigrant family that started with almost nothing so trust me I KNOW. You can do it the RIGHT (moral/legal) way.
Thank you MJ. This says it all for me.
And to all the people bringing up Channing Tatum, MAYBE just MAYBE the fact that’s he white and a man are factors into the options he felt were available to him and his life. She didn’t rape anyone, she didn’t kill anyone, she’s owning to it and if the men she committed these crimes against come after her. She’ll have her day in court like all her other peers in the rap game. She’s starting these conversations and everyone is well within their own right to cancel her. I think we’re all just trying to speak on how we can relate to those circumstances and these people who intersect with the rap game/sex work.
So like it’s okay for her to drug someone (which could have killed them ) because she was poor ?
It’s 100% much worse than saying something or tweeting something problematic,it really really is . Sorry but she’s trash and has zero talent anyway so I do hope her career slows down because of this .
Wow, I have not seen one person in this thread say that what she did was right. I do see some people trying to have a larger conversation about her circumstances growing up, and others shouting them down about it. It’s fine if anyone wants to cancel Cardi for any reason, and for the record I am not a fan.
I do feel that some in here are trying to narrow down the subject so that they can be “right,” and using very intellectually dishonest arguments comparing her to Cosby, and R Kelly who are literally serial rapists.
There’s nothing wrong with having a larger conversation. It doesn’t mean people don’t think what she did was wrong, it is wrong and a crime, and if any of these men come after her I will believe and support them having their day in court.
I’m pissed off and offended on behalf of every woc, every impoverished woman who ever struggled to overcome adversity without becoming a violent, abusive, gangbanging piece of work who drugged and robbed people to get what she wanted from them.
There are nuances to everyone’s immigrant story. I’m a child of immigrants, grew up in south Texas in a city that has landed on MSN’s top ten poorest cities every time. My mother immigrated with her family, I’m a first generation American and proud Mexican American. I work at a Forbes 100 company, about to graduate with my bachelors at 30 yrs old. I was able to do this because of my support system. My mother and fathers moral compass, my family etc. That doesn’t mean I don’t understand how and why my best friend from high school with an awful mother and young child thought her best choice was stripping and eventually fell into cocaine addiction. This doesn’t mean i don’t understand why my cousins with an awful family system thought running drugs across the border was their best choice. It means that because I know what it took for me to “succeed” is not available to everyone because of a litany of reasons other people here have mentioned.
I don’t condone. I understand.
Congratulations on your success and your compassion. <3
WOC = Immigrant
I was responding with my story and overall to the commenters who have mentioned their backgrounds including immigrating, socioeconomic standing and race. I just happen to hit all three. I apologize for not making that clear.
Most black people in America aren’t technically ‘immigrants’ so your story does not equate.
I can’t believe people in these comments are trying to say this behavior is ok because she drugged men, but didn’t rape them. Um, excuse me?! Yes, drugging and raping are not the same but they are both REPREHENSIBLE acts. Drugging someone is a violation of the highest order, I’m shocked that people are relying on ludicrous whataboutism to try and mental gymnastics their way out of recognizing how appalling this behavior is and was.
It’s not okay. Both are vile. One is still worse than the other. Why is that a hard concept for people?
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What? Drugging somebody against their will is dangerous! It can kill you! This is not like shoplifting! It is not rape, but it is a serious form of physical assault that if caught will put you in prison, not jail but prison.
The MRA trolls and their flying Good Girls are crawling out of the woodwork, b/c of course. I just have to say, it’s extremely intellectually dishonest how some are pretending that this is a Double Standards Against Men issue by bringing up middle-aged men (white and poc) who have been cancelled over things they’ve said, cultural appropriation, etc, over the years as if women don’t get cancelled for those things too. Roseanne Barr, anyone? Azalea Banks? Lena Dunham? Iggy Azalea? We could be here all day.
Thanks again for all your comments. This subject is your wheelhouse and you nail it every time.
Yes, thank you, Otaku. I guess we’re not allowed to have larger conversations about this subject. Of course it was wrong, I didn’t think such obvious things needed to be pointed out. Also, the comparing to Cosby and Kelly makes this story reek of MRA, bUT wHAt aBOuT thE mEnZ!? bs.
The MRA is hella strong all over this conversation. It’s infuriating to see how often people eagerly go with their first instinct, the one society has conditioned is to fall into
Ok, but what is MRA? Magnetic Resonance Angiogram? Spill!
The larger discussions used to understand why Cardi B committed these crimes just come across as excusing what she did.
Thank you. I’m not even trying to pretend that what she did is ok and most people here aren’t either. But I’m also not going to stfu about the other issues involved in this situation or greenlight other people (especially since most trying to make these points aren’t male straight white people either) being bullied into not speaking up about the other elements involved just to look like One Of The Good Ones. Can you believe the delusion it takes to try to pretend that only men get cancelled for saying problematic things? People have even called for women to be cancelled for shit that their husbands, husband’s relatives, husband’s ancestors, their own colleagues, and friends have said and done. She knew, she knew! Meryl and Jennifer are cancelled! Karlie Kushners! Beyonce’s business partner did what? Royalty has oppressed! Uh, her husband’s Instagram said what, I thought she was a feminist? Amber Tamblyn who? Paris Hilton said what about gay men in 2002, and some famous women were on friendly terms w/ that bitch?!
@Bey: MR A stands for men’s rights activists. They’re basically a gaslighting mostly Republican/independent hate movement that pretends to be about protecting men and boys from gender-based oppression, but is really about protecting the right to discriminate against and abuse women and girls in the name of morality, pissing their pants over feminism, treating Asian women and Middle Eastern women like objects, and protecting the ‘free speech’ of white supremacists by trying to force everyone to politely tolerate it everywhere.
Yeah, it’s obnoxious. Life isn’t a f*cking seesaw where placing weight on the opposite side of an equation doesn’t tilt it over into one moral direction or the other. Saying, “crime is more nuanced in terms of its socioeconomic/class elements than people like to admit” is not the same thing as saying, “Cardi B was justified to behave like this and the men she drugged aren’t victims.”
One of the rare times that I’m not reading all the comments. Got to about comment 17 or so and realized this was going to be an infuriating thread where what SHOULD be a nuanced conversation (Lizzie, Megan, Otaku, LaLa etc all tried) will turn into a binary, simplistic argument about “abuse is abuse” without any further examination or context required. And any attempt to redirect the conversation to address wider systemic, economic, and social issues will be stifled by people who will claim that we are defending her actions. Sigh. Good old-fashioned American call-out culture: false equivalencies, gaslighting, pitchforks, shaming, and on and on.
I don’t come here for the Twitter vibe, ya know? Anyway, y’all have at it I guess.
+1000!
Exactly, Kitten. And very well said. When I see the same comments over and over again by the same people, it’s obvious they’re not here looking for an actual discussion.
All I’m seeing in these comments are people trying to justify Cardi’s behavior by basically saying, “Ehhh, it’s not that bad. She just drugged them, it’s not like she raped them…” I don’t understand why rape is even part of the conversation. No Cardi, your behavior was terrible–reprehensible even. The idea that we can’t call her out for committing such an egregious violation of someone’s person is absolutely unfathomable to me. It’s not a nuanced issue that requires context. YOU. DON’T. DRUG. PEOPLE. End of story. Why is that such a difficult concept to understand???
It’s not hard to understand.
“YOU DON’T DRUG PEOPLE” Oh ya don’t say! I had no idea.
Thank you so much for your much-needed insight. I feel like I really learned something today. LOL
I’m literally here saying that there’s a larger, more valuable conversation to be had and you take the time to reply to my comment with the most obvious shit in the world.
I am LITERALLY here saying that if we try to engage in said conversation, people will accuse you of defending indefensible shit and you reply to me, essentially accusing me of defending indefensible shit.
(Wait, were you TRYNG to help me make my point? Maybe I should thank you….?)
But seriously there are a million people on this thread making the same simple argument as you. You guys should share pitchforks instead of replying to me when I made it clear I have ZERO desire to engage with ALL of the commenters saying that people living in poverty never have to make unthinkable decisions; decisions that they may not have made had they access to the same resources, structural/systemic support, and opportunities that so many of us take for granted. My parents both grew up DIRT poor in abusive households yet both broke the cycle of poverty AND abuse. And you know what? Just because my parents overcame their circumstances doesn’t mean they look down on others who are unable to do the same. In fact, it makes them MORE sympathetic to those who struggle in impoverished circumstances.
I f*cking HATE the argument of “I grew up X and I NEVER did Y”. Cool. NOT EVERYONE IS YOU. Not everyone has the same coping mechanism, not everyone faces the same temptations, and not everyone has ONE loving person in their lives (like my parents did) to take them under their wings and provide them with guidance and a level of security.
Ugh. This whole thread is trash.
Please read these words very carefully and slowly so that you understand. YOU. DON’T. DRUG. PEOPLE. Why you continue trying to justify this behavior is incomprehensible to me. I don’t care about her upbringing. I don’t care about her context. I’ll say it again. YOU. DON’T. DRUG. PEOPLE. That’s my point. It’s quite simple. Need I write it out for you one more time? Surely not.
@kitten, stop blaming everyone else, you are the one making the most comments on this thread
And what makes it more weird is Cardi admitted she used the money robbing and drugging men to buy studio time. Not to you know survive.
Wow, that is a really illegal thing to do. Can’t she go to jail for admitting this, what am I missing?
She has admitted to a lot of things…doesn’t mean she’ll get charged with anything. Victims would need to speak up and there needs to be proof. There is a video going around on twitter where Cardi is bragging about how to get “revenge” on a guy. She is saying you get him drunk and high and then bring in another girl for a threesome. She then says when he “wakes up” he won’t know what hit him and then pow you tell him the other girl was a “tranny” and that a “tranny really sucked your d*ck”. This is her idea of revenge on a guy. She is insane and NO ONE should be defending her. Also, a man named Kevin Smith claims to be one of her victims and said he woke up from being “drugged” to his money gone and a used condom on the floor. He said it happened 5 years ago but was too ashamed to report it to police because he was engaged to be married at the time and also because he didn’t want to admit a stripper drugged and robbed him.
I was reading up on Kevin Smith story.
He can still press charges against her if he chooses to of course.
I hope he does. Between that and the transgender stories…what a vile woman. Sometimes the trash takes itself out.
Just like to say the reason many ppl turn to religion is to help them through tough times without losing their dignity or having to be lawless.
It is hard to break the cycle of poverty but the most proven way out is to get an education & qualifications.
Look, poor people are supposed to content to be poor. They are supposed to work 3 jobs to keep the lights on, get little sleep, be tired at those three jobs and take joy in that upright life. (Do we even talk about how difficult it is to find jobs that don’t expect open availability?)
They are supposed to go to bed at night or 4 a.m. or whatever time their last job ends and sleep well in the knowledge that they’ve made a moral living.
Meanwhile across town, well educated white people rake in thousands on immoral yet legal work, securing and maintaining patents on low cost, high priced medications, cutting corners on low income housing, using tax law, business law, and the criminal justice system to eek out every advantage possible.
The upper classes put work into keeping people poor. They write the tax code, zoning laws, map the school districts, vote on funding measures.
Someone mentioned nurses. You don’t get into nursing school because you think it’s a great job. You get in it by having good grades, time to study, and a way to pay for it. But even so, look dead inside your heart and tell me you wouldn’t feel some type of way if a woman with Cardi’s speech patterns and mannerisms came in to check how your incision site was healing.
Cardi isn’t right. Full.stop.
But you are lying to yourself and furthering inequality when you lie to yourself and say she readily and easily had a slew of other options and that her morals are so much worse than someone else’s.
WILD APPLAUSE.
Thank you for contributing valuable and insightful comments to the larger conversation we’re having.
So you don’t believe there are upper and middle class POC? That ‘poor’ black people stay poor all their lives? That POC don’t live ‘across town’? I have friends who are physicians, nurse practitioners, engineers, software developers, CPAs, etc. We are all WOC. Cardi did what Cardi wanted to do because she wanted the easy way out.
‘But even so, look dead inside your heart and tell me you wouldn’t feel some type of way if a woman with Cardi’s speech patterns and mannerisms came in to check how your incision site was healing.’ So you equate particular ‘speech patterns and mannerisms’ with people of color? And if a nurse entered your room displaying these ‘speech patterns and mannerisms’ that you feel all poor black people possess you would ask her to leave, then ask for a nurse who ‘talks proper’ like white people do? LOL.
To be clear, I am POC. I am black. I was poor and now I’m firmly middle class and in a few years, I expect to be lower middle class. My aunts are both UMC, my mother grew up middle class but dropped down to poor when she divorced.
I lived in the inner city as a child, moved to the suburbs at the tail end of middle school and now live in a rural white area.
I didn’t say what you seem to be reading. POC are not a monolith. I was referring to Cardi’s background which unless I’m mistaken, in the Bronx where education and opportunity can be sketchy, where it’s hard to “stay out of trouble”. I remember because I lived in Brooklyn for a few years.
And no, I wouldn’t ask for another nurse because I am black as hell and fully aware of respectability politics. And because I’m black as hell, I know there are a ton of who would devalue a nurse’s credentials and experience because she sounds a little “hood”. People devalue Cardi’s voice on the most basic of topics because of her intentions so nah it’s not a silly thing to assert.
My manager is from the hood and just received her doctorate in engineering. Speech patterns and mannerisms? Geesh.
@DS9 – ‘And because I’m black as hell, I know there are a ton of who would devalue a nurse’s credentials and experience because she sounds a little “hood”.’
This is exactly what you did when you wrote about ‘speech patterns and mannerisms’ in the above email.
I got chills reading your comment. I will be thinking about what you said here for quite sometime. Thank you.
You’re going to get raked through the coals for this, but frankly…I understand exactly what you’re saying. Morality is a economic privilege in America. It’s very easy to make moral decisions when you aren’t desperate. People can pretend otherwise all they want, but when you look at it from a broader perspective of whose crimes have larger socioeconomic impact versus who predominantly suffers the legal ramifications of their violations of social ethics, it becomes very obvious how much moral justice is actually linked to economic status in America. The situation here is a lot more morally complex than it seems up front, and saying that is not a backhanded way of saying that what she did was acceptable. The world isn’t that simple.
Also, studies have shown that black folks have the most difficulty not just moving up social classes but staying up and advancing their children up those classes.
I believe the Atlantic did a piece on it recently.
OMG. Black folks. Reading about us and living among us are different things. But let me go outside and pick a chicken to ring, wash my clothes in the metal tub in the yard and chase my chiren around the hood so they can eat and go to bed before I start drugging and robbing.
I mean…she was (is?) in a gang. I don’t know why people are so shocked that she did illegal things. She’s very young and made a lot of mistakes. Get off your high horses. This is part of her story, just as Jay Z and many others have some gross sh!t from their past. If you don’t like it, then don’t buy their music or support their brands. I suspect most that are “canceling” her don’t buy her music anyway and are just looking for more of a reason to hate on her. I hope she will continue to talk about her experiences and encourage kids not to follow her path.
Respectibility politics at work.
“I got out. Everyone can get out too.”
Yeah, we all know that aunt at the cookout
YES. How have you not left this thread in disgust by now? Ugh. I’m done but I’m glad I came back, if only to read what you had to say.
@ Kitten
Just wanted to know if you’ve ever watched any of Cardi’s live streams? You know she started stripping at age 18. She said by age 19 she was able to get her own apartment, buy designer shoes, and even get herself a boob job. She wasn’t struggling. Kevin Smith, an alleged victim of hers said Cardi drugged and robbed him 5 years ago. She is around 26 now so she would have been 21 at the time. She was already doing fairly well for herself, far from homeless and starving on the street. She drugged and robbed men for “extra cash” because she wanted quick and easy money to pay for studio time. Her actions are inexcusable. Kevin also stated when he “woke up” there was a used condom on the floor. If we are going to believe women who were assaulted we have to do the same for men.
@Me yikes
At each day that goes by I see how much the biggest privilege a person can have is a structured family. I often wonder what kind of person I’d be without it.
@emily, that’s victim blaming. That’s like saying a rape victim was wearing slutty clothes and was wasted at a club, no wonder she got raped. Going to a strip club us legal, women willingly work there. Those men did not consent to being drugged and raped. What she did was inexcusable. Oh and btw, i cocktailed at a strip club for a year and a half while in college. A lot of strippers come up w a sob story about why they had to work there for the suckers who came in. Get better tips that way.
Ethics by Celebitchy in two lines….
Cardi B drugs and Robb’s people? “Our hero!”
A male actor gets paid more than a female co worker? “Hang the bastard!”
I believe the reaction is a response to the false equivalence that people outside Celebitchy do all the time when it comes to gender. Having understanding that, I see what you’re talking about as well.
I’m not defending what she did, and I don’t think Cardi B is asking you to defend it, either, but frankly, some of the comments here are something else. Y’all realize prostitution is illegal with the exception of a few cities in America, right? These men were paying to engage in illicit sexual activity with women who have no legal recourse for the inherent risks of their job – which is why I imagine none of them went to the police after. Equating this to an abuse situation is just outright insensible. It’s a lot more nuanced than that. If we’re going to talk about the realities of the situation, you can’t ignore that both parties were engaging in explicitly criminal activity. That significantly alters the power dynamics you typically see in an abusive situation and makes black and white views of the situation meaningless.
This issue really is black and white.
If you believe in women or men drugging and robbing people because they have ‘limited options’ just embrace it.
Why do people keep mentioning prostitution? Cardi claims to have been a stripper, not a prostitute. It’s actually offensive to assume that stripper=prostitute. In fact, Cardi is currently suing a blogger for claiming that she was a prostitute.