Cardi B has taken the stand in a federal trial against YouTube personality Latasha Kebe, and the contents of the rapper’s testimony are shocking and scary, to say the least.
The rapper, whose real name is Belcalis Almánzar, has claimed Kebe, who vlogs under the name Tasha K, legally defamed her in dozens of YouTube videos containing shocking and malicious claims about her health and career.
One video cited in the rapper’s lawsuit alleges that Cardi “f**ked herself with beer bottles on f**king stripper stages.” Another one makes a shocking allegation that the star supposedly has herpes. In fact, one of the primary claims in the lawsuit is that Kebe’s videos were responsible for spreading persistent, allegedly false rumors about Cardi supposedly contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Multiple posts cited in the case by the rapper’s lawyers show Kebe referring to Cardi as “Herpes B.”
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The trial kicked off on Monday at the federal courthouse in Atlanta, and it is expected to run into next week. Kulture‘s momma took the stand on Thursday, and revealed that she’d been really struggling mentally ever since the allegedly false claims first came out on YouTube. Specifically, the rapper testified that she’d become “extremely suicidal” following the publication and spread of the videos with allegedly false claims.
Speaking in testimony to her own lawyers during the day, the WAP artist revealed that she felt “helpless” as Kebe broadcast alleged lies to more than 1 million followers on the video-sharing site. Cardi reported that she apparently developed fatigue, anxiety, weight loss, and migraines as a result of having to deal with those alleged lies being broadcast.
The rapper said this at one point on the stand, later apologizing for her bad language (below):
“Only an evil person could do that s**t.”
Cardi further reported that even after overcoming a tough time earlier in her life, struggling with poverty, homelessness, and physical abuse, the rapper had never felt suicidal until she was forced to deal with Kebe’s claims. Eventually, Cardi testified, she went to see a therapist to try to cope with the existence of the videos and grapple with the suicidal feelings.
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The Bodak Yellow rapper also said that she felt as though she “didn’t deserve” her daughter because of the defamation. She further testified that she struggled to be intimate with her husband, Offset, due to the apparent campaign against her.
Cardi explained on the stand:
“I felt defeated and depressed and I didn’t want to sleep with my husband.”
Wow.
Earlier in the trial, Cardi B’s attorneys questioned Kebe on the stand. According to Law360, the vlogger admitted on the record that she “knowingly published lies about the rapper to generate money for her business.” As Billboard notes, that may prove to be “crucial testimony,” because the burden of proof in a libel lawsuit for a public figure like Cardi B requires that she win only if she can show Kebe “lied intentionally or recklessly disregarded the truth.”
As we noted (above), the trial will continue at least until Tuesday of next week.
[Image via WENN/Avalon]
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