The civil assault trial of rapper Cardi B, born Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, has gripped Los Angeles this week, as the star took the stand to defend herself against accusations that she physically attacked a security guard during a private doctor’s visit in 2018. The case, which has unfolded in the glare of national media attention and daily livestreams, pits the Grammy-winning rapper against Emani Ellis, a former security guard who claims Cardi B assaulted her at a Beverly Hills OB-GYN office while the rapper was four months pregnant and trying to keep her pregnancy under wraps.
According to Court TV and Law&Crime Trials, the incident in question took place on February 24, 2018, when Cardi B attended a confidential appointment at her gynecologist’s office. Ellis, working as a security guard in the building, alleges the rapper “violently, unlawfully, intentionally, suddenly and maliciously” struck her head, face, and body, spat on her, and used multiple profanities and racial slurs. Ellis claims the altercation left her with both physical and emotional scars, and she filed a lawsuit in 2020 seeking medical expenses, lost earnings, punitive damages, and a civil penalty of $25,000.
Cardi B’s version of events, however, tells a starkly different story. On the stand, the rapper firmly denied any physical contact, stating that the encounter was entirely verbal and lasted no more than 60 to 90 seconds. She explained that she was pregnant at the time—her first child was on the way—and described herself as “disabled” and unable to fight back. “We were chest-to-chest, but there was no physical incident,” Cardi B testified, according to Court TV. She further denied ever spitting on Ellis or using racial slurs, insisting that heated words were exchanged, but that neither party touched the other.
Central to the case are the conflicting accounts of what happened in that brief, tense confrontation. Ellis maintains that Cardi B scratched her left cheek with a fingernail, spat on her, and hurled insults, including racial slurs and threats about her employment. “She turned around and said, ‘why the fuck are you telling people you seen me?’” Ellis recounted on the stand. She described Cardi B’s nails as two to three inches long and claimed the rapper cursed, body-shamed, and mocked her during the encounter. Ellis said she experienced trauma from the event, leading to anxiety, depression, insomnia, and PTSD, and that she sought both psychological and medical treatment for her injuries.
But Cardi B’s defense team, led by attorney Peter J. Anderson, painted a different picture. They argued that Ellis, who had previously been a fan of Cardi B, was the aggressor, attempting to film the rapper on her phone and loudly announcing her presence in the building. Cardi B testified that she asked Ellis not to say anything to anyone about her visit, hoping to protect her privacy. Instead, she claimed, Ellis “aggressively approached [Cardi B] and engaged her in a profanity-laced screaming match.” The rapper’s security guard, referred to as “Doe 1” in court documents, was present in the lobby but did not get involved in the incident.
Key testimony came from Tierra Malcolm, the receptionist at the doctor’s office that day. Malcolm told the court that the practice had closed early to ensure Cardi B’s privacy and that she immediately intervened when she heard the commotion. “I got in between them and tried to calm the situation down,” Malcolm said, according to Court TV and Law&Crime Trials. She testified that she received a scratch on her forehead from Ellis, not Cardi B, and saw no injuries, cuts, or blood on Ellis—nor any evidence that anyone spat on her. Malcolm’s account supported Cardi B’s claim that the confrontation was verbal, not physical.
Dr. David Finke, the OB-GYN who treated Cardi B that day, also took the stand. He backed up Malcolm’s account, stating that he witnessed yelling, finger-pointing, and some swatting of arms, but did not see Cardi B hit or swing at Ellis. “I did not see scratches, cuts, or spit on Ms. Ellis’s face; no injury observed,” Dr. Finke testified. He did, however, see Ellis hit the receptionist, and described intense yelling from both sides. Dr. Finke emphasized that he was not paid or subpoenaed for his testimony, and apologized to Cardi B after the incident, noting that she remained calm and did not complain.
Medical testimony added further complexity to the case. Dr. Brent Moelleken, a plastic surgeon, examined Ellis nearly four years after the incident and observed three vertical, parallel marks on her left cheek, which he described as highly suggestive of fingernail injury. He performed two procedures to reduce scarring and hypersensitivity, with some improvement, but noted that the scarring was still present. Dr. Moelleken’s charges for Ellis’s treatment totaled $17,500, paid on a lien basis depending on the case outcome. On the emotional front, psychiatrist Dr. James E. Rosenberg evaluated Ellis in July 2023, but found “no significant evidence of emotional injury related to the incident.” He pointed to inconsistencies in Ellis’s self-reported trauma history and suggested her psychological test scores were “extraordinarily high,” inconsistent with actual psychiatric disorders, and possibly indicative of exaggeration.
The trial also revealed the absence of surveillance footage—Cardi B testified that she repeatedly requested any available video, but none was found. The defense highlighted this gap, as well as discrepancies in Ellis’s account, such as confusion over whether the scratch was on her cheek or nose and the lack of immediate photographic evidence. Ellis’s mother and grandmother both testified that she called them crying after the incident, and described her as anxious and distressed, but the defense pressed them on the lack of contemporaneous documentation or photos of injuries.
Cardi B’s legal team emphasized her physical disadvantage during the encounter. At the time, she was four months pregnant and, according to her attorney, “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.” The defense argued that Ellis was the aggressor, and that Cardi B was simply trying to protect her privacy and avoid confrontation.
As the trial heads toward its conclusion, with jury instructions and closing arguments scheduled for September 2, 2025, the case remains a classic courtroom showdown of conflicting memories and credibility. Both sides have presented passionate arguments and called on witnesses to bolster their narratives. For Cardi B, the outcome could have significant personal and financial consequences, while for Ellis, it represents a quest for recognition and redress for injuries she claims changed the trajectory of her life.
The jury’s decision will hinge on whom they believe: the world-famous rapper who says she never laid a hand on her accuser, or the former security guard who says she bears the emotional and physical scars of a celebrity encounter gone terribly wrong.
