4 days ago
Cardi B sued by fan for assault, battery after viral 2023 microphone-throwing incident
Two years after Cardi B was accused of assaulting a fan with a microphone during a live performance, the rapper is reportedly facing legal repercussions for the viral incident.
The concertgoer, a woman from Cleveland, Ohio, filed a lawsuit alleging assault, battery and negligence against the Grammy-winning rapper on Monday, July 21, according to Rolling Stone and Billboard. The woman's attorney, Cierra N. Norris, confirmed the litigation in a July 24 press conference.
"It is quite the feat to take on someone that is known and loved like Cardi B," Norris told news cameras. "Thank God we are not in a court of public opinion, but we are in a court of law."
In an Instagram post, also confirming her client's complaint, Norris wrote: "No one should be afraid to hold someone accountable just because they are famous," adding that the woman is going by the pseudonym Jane Doe because she is "suffering from mental health issues as a result of the incident" and wants to avoid "potential backlash."
Drai's Management Group, LLC, the owner of the Las Vegas venue where Cardi's performance took place, is also being sued for its alleged failure "to intervene or de-escalate the incident," Billboard reported.
USA TODAY has reached out to Norris and representatives for Cardi B and Drai's Management Group for comment.
In July 2023, Cardi B made social media headlines after footage from her performance at Drai's Beachclub showed her throwing her microphone at an attendee. In the video, which racked up over 100 million views to date, Cardi retaliated when a concertgoer standing at the edge of the stage tossed the contents of a large white cup, splashing her face and soaking her orange swimsuit cover-up as she performed her breakthrough hit "Bodak Yellow."
Norris, however, offered a different version of events, saying during the press conference that Cardi had asked fans to slosh their drinks, and that simply because she had reached her limit does not excuse the "assault" and "battery" the fan endured.
Cardi B fan reports battery after rapper threw microphone at her in Vegas
In videos, the rapper is seen subsequently berating the individual as security retrieved her microphone and appeared to remove the fan. Cardi later reposted another video of the incident shared by a fan account.
After the jarring encounter, the unidentified fan filed a police report for battery. No arrests or citations were issued, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Norris, noting that the lawsuit is being filed years after the incident, said a friend of the fan had contacted her while she was still in Las Vegas, and that she had been the woman's lawyer since then. They wanted to due the litigation right, rather than capitalize on a "15 minutes" of fame, Norris argued.
Cardi B's attorney criticizes Jane Doe lawsuit as 'financial shakedown'
Doe claims Cardi B encouraged "light splashing from drinks" during her performance at Drai's Beachclub, according to Rolling Stone and Billboard.
Additional social media footage shared at the time of Cardi's performance showed the rapper seemingly welcoming getting splashed by fans. "Give me water," Cardi said in one clip, after which fans splashed her backside. It's unclear whether the footage was taken before or after the face-splashing incident.
The woman, "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," the lawsuit stated, per Rolling Stone and Billboard. "In apparent anger and without warning, Cardi B suddenly and forcefully threw her microphone directly at (Doe)."
Cardi B's microphone from viral video placed in auction for $100K
The aggrieved concertgoer said the incident caused her "severe emotional distress, shock, humiliation and physical injury," Rolling Stone reported. Additionally, Doe said the sale of Cardi B's microphone in an auction for nearly $100K "further publicized the incident and exacerbated (her) emotional distress."
"Fame is not a license to harm," Norris said. "Just because Cardi B is one of the most loved entertainers in the world does not mean that she is free from accountability."
In a statement to Billboard addressing the lawsuit, Cardi B's attorney Drew Findling slammed the woman's complaint 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," Findling told the news outlet. "But apparently the opportunity to try to make money off of a celebrity was too much for some willing law firm to pass up."
Contributing: Kim Willis and Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cardi B lawsuit: Rapper sued for viral microphone-throwing incident
