Cardi B has scored another legal victory against a security guard who accused the rapper of scratching her face outside a Beverly Hills doctor’s office in 2018 — without even needing to appear in court this time.
Los Angeles County Judge Ian Fusselman denied plaintiff Emani Ellis’ request for a new trial on December 5, citing no grounds to overturn the previous unanimous ruling, according to court documents obtained by Complex.
Ellis had claimed jurors were intimidated by Cardi after a video surfaced showing the rapper, who was secretly pregnant at the time, throwing a pen to the ground when a YouTuber questioned her about her pregnancy outside the courthouse. Cardi was filmed demanding, “Stop disrespecting me,” to vlogger Donat Ricketts. Cardi publicly announced her pregnancy later, on September 17, 2018.
During Friday’s hearing, Judge Fusselman read a sworn declaration from Ricketts, who said the pen bounced and hit him. However, he later told a juror that he did not plan to sue Cardi. Cardi’s legal team argued that the pen did not hit anyone, and any claims that jurors were intimidated were hearsay — a point the judge agreed with.
“We’re speculating about how it impacted them,” Fusselman said. “Wouldn’t that tend to help your case, rather than hurt it?” He added that the jurors had paid close attention to the trial evidence and that nothing outside the courtroom influenced their deliberations.
The original trial concluded on September 2, with jurors taking just one hour to determine that Cardi did not assault Ellis. After the verdict, Cardi firmly defended herself.
“I swear to God I will say it on my deathbed: I did not touch that woman. I did not touch that girl, I didn’t lay my hands on that girl,” she said. “With that being said, this time around, I’m gonna be nice. The next person to try to do a frivolous lawsuit against me, I’m going to countersue, and I’m gonna make you pay because this is not OK.”
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