Cardi B debuted a new black pixie cut while arriving at court in Los Angeles on Monday as jury selection and testimony kicked off in her civil assault trial. The case stems from a claim that she allegedly assaulted a female security guard at a medical office in Beverly Hills back in 2018.

As for the trial, the plaintiff, Emani Ellis, served as the first witness to take the stand. In doing so, she recalled conducting her routine rounds and being surprised to see the Invasion of Privacy rapper. She remarked, “Wow, that’s Cardi B,” which allegedly prompted the rapper to become enraged and accuse her of trying to publicize her private medical visit. “She was extremely upset,” Ellis testified, as caught by Rolling Stone, “She put her finger in my face.” Cardi had yet to announce her first pregnancy with Offset at the time.

In his opening statement, Cardi’s lawyer, Peter Anderson, countered that Ellis was filming her and acting “belligerent.” In turn, Cardi feared for the safety of her unborn child. “Cardi 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,” he further said. “There will be evidence that it was [Ellis] who yelled, ‘I will f*ck your sh*t up.’ That’s when someone intervened and dragged [Ellis] to an elevator and said, ‘You have to leave.’”

Cardi B “Am I the Drama?”

Cardi will return to the courtroom on Tuesday, where she is expected to give testimony of her own. The assault trial comes ahead of the release of her new album, Am I the Drama?, which she’s finally dropping next month. It will mark her first studio album since her debut back in 2018. She’s already released the singles, “Outside,” as well as “Imaginary Playerz.”

Speaking with Zane Lowe during a recent interview for Apple Music 1, she explained her inspiration for the album title. “It’s like, ‘Damn, does drama chase me? Or am I the drama?’” she told Lowe, as caught by Billboard. “I just really think I was born with an anointed light. Sometimes the light is great, but it also disturbs people’s peace. It draws people to me, and it’s not always going to be good. That light might bother people … maybe it’s too bright, it’s too loud. It’s always been like this to me.”