{"id":25655,"date":"2025-08-27T03:21:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T03:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/25655\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T03:21:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T03:21:07","slug":"rapper-says-didnt-touch-her","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/25655\/","title":{"rendered":"Rapper Says ‘Didn’t Touch Her’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tCardi B<\/a> testified Tuesday that when she stepped off an elevator to visit a Beverly Hills obstetrician while secretly pregnant seven years ago, a female security guard blabbed her name into a phone<\/a>, stalked her down a hallway, appeared to be recording her, and refused to back up. She claimed the guard, Emani Ellis, then started \u201cwilding out\u201d when others intervened.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe rapper, born Belcalis Alm\u00e1nzar, told jurors on the second day of a civil trial in Alhambra, California, that she had gone out of her way to conceal the medical visit, even asking her personal security guard to wait downstairs in the lobby. She wasn\u2019t yet ready to announce she was expecting her first child with Migos rapper Offset, she said. <\/p>\n

\n\tWhen she encountered Ellis and felt like she was being cornered, a \u201cverbal altercation\u201d ensued, she testified. Alm\u00e1nzar was adamant she never laid a finger on Ellis. \u201cI didn\u2019t touch her,\u201d she said repeatedly on the witness stand Tuesday. \u201cIt was like a verbal fight, but it didn\u2019t get physical at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEllis, 32, has sued Alm\u00e1nzar with claims the \u201cI Like It\u201d rapper assaulted her outside the fifth-floor medical office after falsely accusing Ellis of blowing her cover. Ellis claimed Alm\u00e1nzar got in her face, cut her cheek with a three-inch nail, and spit on her, leaving her \u201cdeeply traumatized.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Cardi B arrives for testimony at civil trial in Alhambra, Calif., says she \u201cnever\u201d touched the security guard suing her with claims of assault and battery pic.twitter.com\/sm5XBz5wO1<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nancy Dillon (@Nancy__Dillon) August 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n\tAppearing relaxed under rapid-fire questioning by Ellis\u2019 lawyer, Ron Rosen Janfaza, Alm\u00e1nzar scored a laugh from several jurors when asked how she would characterize her grilling. \u201cWe\u2019re having, I\u2019ll say, a debate,\u201d she replied with a smile. Rosen Janfaza had just deemed her a \u201chostile witness\u201d and opened his examination by asking if she was affiliated with a gang. (The judge ruled that the question was out of bounds<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\n\tWalking the jury of six women and six men through her memory of the incident inside the Beverly Hills medical building on Feb. 24, 2018, Alm\u00e1nzar said she saw Ellis immediately after the elevator doors opened. She said Ellis had a phone up to her ear.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cI could hear her. She was talking on the phone. She said, \u2018Oh my god, Cardi B is here!\u2019\u201d So I kind of speed walk [away], but I feel her behind me,\u201d Alm\u00e1nzar testified. She said Ellis mentioned her name again, so she turned around. At that point, Ellis purportedly was holding her phone in front of her chest, the singer testified. Alm\u00e1nzar alleged it appeared she was taking a video. Ellis denies this.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI asked her, \u2018Yo, why are you recording me?\u2019\u201d Alm\u00e1nzar testified. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Why are you recording me? Aren\u2019t you security?\u2019 And she\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, my bad.\u2019 But then I\u2019m walking, and I feel her still following me. So as I\u2019m speed walking trying to look for the office, I turn around again, and I\u2019m like, \u2018Why are you following me?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to Alm\u00e1nzar, Ellis replied, \u201cBecause I can.\u201d To this, Alm\u00e1nzar says she replied, \u201cNo, you can\u2019t.\u201d Again, Alm\u00e1nzar rebuked Ellis for allegedly recording and following her.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShe\u2019s getting closer and closer. Now she\u2019s like in front of me, where I can\u2019t really maneuver,\u201d Alm\u00e1nzar testified. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Ain\u2019t you supposed to be security? \u2026 You\u2019re recording me. Now you\u2019re following me. Like, back up!\u2019 She\u2019s like, \u2018I can do what I want.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Grammy winner said she accused Ellis of \u201cinvading\u201d her privacy. \u201cNow, we\u2019re like chest to chest,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m thinking to myself, this girl is big. She\u2019s got big black boots on. I\u2019m like, damn, what the hell am I going to do now? She\u2019s literally right in my face, like, on my chest, and we\u2019re arguing, I\u2019m telling her to back up. And she\u2019s not backing up.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tAlm\u00e1nzar admitted she shouted an obscenity at Ellis. \u201cBitch, get the fuck out of my face,\u201d she recalled saying. \u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re literally screaming at each other,\u201d she said. When the receptionist for the doctor\u2019s office came out to investigate the disturbance, Ellis falsely accused Alm\u00e1nzar or striking her, Alm\u00e1nzar testified.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShe started wilding out, [saying] \u2018This bitch hit me,\u2019\u201d Alm\u00e1nzar claimed. \u201cI\u2019m looking at her like, girl, I couldn\u2019t hit you if I wanted to.\u201d She said the doctor came out too, and at that point, Alm\u00e1nzar scurried into the office for her appointment.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u2018When I got sued, I was like, \u2018Oh, I know I didn\u2019t touch her. Look for the cameras because they\u2019ll tell you. I didn\u2019t touch her,\u2019\u201d she testified. The rapper told the jury she sought medical attention that day because she was on a trip to Los Angeles and felt something was off with the pregnancy. After the minute-long confrontation with Ellis, she saw the doctor and moved on, she said. Then Ellis filed her lawsuit.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlm\u00e1nzar was called as the sixth witness at the civil trial in Alhambra, California. She is expected to resume her testimony on Wednesday. Earlier Tuesday, a plastic surgeon testified that he treated Ellis for a \u201chyper-sensitive\u201d scar on her left cheek after first examining her on Nov. 4, 2022. He said Ellis told him Alm\u00e1nzar had scratched her four years earlier with long fingernails that had sharp objects on them.<\/p>\n

\n\tTestifying as both a treating physician and paid expert for Ellis, Dr. Brent Moelleken said Ellis had three parallel scars on her face, with the \u201ccenter scar\u201d being the largest at two centimeters. Pairing Ellis\u2019 account of what happened with the \u201cdirection of the scars,\u201d he said the scrapes \u201cmost likely\u201d were caused by fingernails, with a longer middle finger causing the deepest scrape in the middle.<\/p>\n

\n\tUnder cross-examination, Dr. Moelleken was confronted with a portion of his videotaped deposition in which he said the scrapes appeared to be caused by a \u201cright-handed\u201d individual swiping \u201cdownward.\u201d One of Alm\u00e1nzar\u2019s lawyers, Eric Lamm, pointed out that the rapper is left-handed.<\/p>\n

\n\tPsychologist Nichole McKenzie testified right before Alm\u00e1nzar. She had evaluated Ellis in April 2022, two months after the incident, as part of Ellis\u2019 worker\u2019s compensation claim. According to a written report from McKenzie read aloud in court, Ellis told the psychologist that Alm\u00e1nzar\u2019s \u201creally long\u201d nails were \u201calmost touching\u201d her nose during the incident. In the report, McKenzie described the confrontation as a \u201cscreaming match.\u201d Under a section on \u201cphysical symptoms,\u201d McKenzie wrote that \u201cMs. Ellis reports that she experiences headaches at least four to five times a week that last for several hours. She is also sleeping more than she used to.\u201d The section did not list any injuries to Ellis\u2019 face.<\/p>\n

\n\tMcKenzie testified Tuesday that if a physical injury was part of Ellis\u2019 worker\u2019s compensation claim, \u201cI would have noted it.\u201d Rosen Janfaza then read another line from McKenzie\u2019s report for the jury. That line said Ellis reported to the psychologist that after the incident, a security guard for Alm\u00e1nzar \u201creportedly apologized.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEllis\u2019 mother and grandmother also testified Tuesday, telling jurors that Ellis called them after the alleged assault in tears. \u201cShe was hysterically crying,\u201d Ellis\u2019 mom, Leanne Shmidt, testified. \u201cShe could barely get it out, she was so upset.\u201d The mother and grandmother said Ellis has suffered from anxiety and depression over the last seven years linked to the incident.<\/p>\n

\n\tEllis, 32, first sued Cardi in February 2020. In her 13-page complaint, she claimed Alm\u00e1nzar physically attacked her and then \u201cused her celebrity status to get [her] fired.\u201d On Monday, Ellis\u2019 lawyer confirmed his client had dropped the employment claim related to the alleged plot to get her fired.<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring her own turn on the witness stand Monday, Ellis told jurors she was conducting her routine rounds in the medical office building when she saw Alm\u00e1nzar exit the elevator and audibly blurted out the rapper\u2019s name. She said she was not talking to anyone on her phone and never recorded the rapper.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShe was extremely upset,\u201d Ellis testified. \u201cShe put her finger in my face.\u201d Ellis claimed Alm\u00e1nzar yelled obscenities at her, cut her left cheek with a three-inch fingernail, and spit on her. \u201cI was deeply traumatized about what happened,\u201d Ellis testified.<\/p>\n

\n\tUnder cross-examination, Alm\u00e1nzar\u2019s lawyer, Peter Anderson, confronted Ellis with an incident report she submitted to her supervisor two days after her alleged assault. In the report, Ellis admitted she was pressing her personal cell phone to her ear around the time the encounter started. Ellis also wrote in the report that Alm\u00e1nzar scratched her nose, not her cheek, Anderson said. \u201cYou changed your story,\u201d Anderson claimed during the line of questioning.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShe touched my nose, but she scratched my cheek,\u201d Ellis replied on the witness stand.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn his opening statement, Anderson said Alm\u00e1nzar felt threatened by Ellis. \u201cCardi B was facing someone, with all respect, who testified she was 240-250 pounds, wearing black military boots, hovering over her, yelling and screaming at her, taking swings at her, trying to get to her,\u201d he told the jury. \u201cThere will be evidence that it was [Ellis] who yelled, \u2018I will fuck your shit up.\u2019 That\u2019s when someone intervened and dragged [Ellis] to an elevator and said, \u2018You have to leave.’\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tAnderson said Alm\u00e1nzar \u201cfeared for her unborn baby. This is her first pregnancy, and a very large woman was advancing towards her. She was utterly confused that a security guard could be her attacker.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe trial is set to continue on Wednesday before breaking early for the holiday weekend and resuming on Tuesday.<\/p>\n