TONGUE-TIED
CARDI HITS LOW IN COURT AFTER GRAMMY HIGH
Hip-hop heroine Cardi B appeared more diva than defendant after finally finding her way to a Queens courtroom.
The chart-topping 26-year-old departed her Criminal Court hearing in great spirits Friday after Judge Scott Dunn released her without bail in connection with a wild Aug. 29 brawl in a borough strip club.
Just hours earlier, the “I Like It” rapper collected a Grammy Awards Record of the Year nomination for her single — along with nods in four other categories. The Bronx-born performer was clearly in a good mood despite the legal backdrop, even sticking her tongue out at one point in the courtroom.
Cardi — after missing a Monday court date — appeared dressed for a night of clubbing rather than a morning in court, swooping past a media horde behind a pair of sunglasses with a floppy brown hat atop her rainbow-colored locks.
She was wrapped in a black fur coat, wore Christian Louboutin boots and sported a Swarovski crystal manicure. The platinumselling artist remained silent during the hearing where prosecutors appealed for $2,500 bail in the case.
Defense lawyer Jeff Kern argued successfully for her freedom without strings — or cash — in connection with the bottle-throwing melee.
“My client has no criminal record,” said Kern, adding Cardi was innocent of the charges. “You asked her to be here today and she is here. We would ask for no bail.”
Cardi, though giggly and grinning, said nothing while exiting through a media throng outside the
Kew Gardens courthouse. She climbed into a waiting black Cadillac Escalade with tinted windows and zipped away.
The “Bodak Yellow” rapper was accused of misdemeanor reckless endangerment and assault after the barroom brawl where Cardi and her entourage allegedly threw a table, a bottle and a hookah pipe at a pair of bartenders in the Angels Strip Club, with her 3 a.m. rage reportedly fueled by jealousy.
Cardi — whose real name is Belcalis Almanzar — believed one of the barkeeps had slept with her rapper husband Offset, according to TMZ. She surrendered on the charges in early October.
In an Instagram video posted earlier this week, Cardi said she and her spouse had split up.
“Things just haven’t been working out between us for a long time,” she wrote. “I guess we just grew out of love, but we’re not together anymore … It might take time to get a divorce.”
The two were only married 15 months ago, with Cardi delivering their daughter this past July. The couple remain good friends and business partners, according to the Instagram post.
“Y’all won,” responded her esrap tranged husband, a member of the trio Migos.
An order of protection was also issued Friday in the strip club case, barring Cardi from any contact with the two alleged victims of the fracas.
Both were reported as slightly injured following the melee that allegedly involved members of her entourage as well, although no one else was charged.
Assistant District Attorney Ryan Nicolosi, in his bail request, noted prosecutors asked for a bench warrant after the entertainer missed a Monday court date. Cardi B’s absence was the result of miscomKern. munication, according to
But Nicolisi suggested the former stripper skipped court because her schedule was more important that the scheduled hearing.
“Just like in any other case, bail is for the purpose of security the defendant’s next appearance,” he said. “And the defendant appears to come when it’s most convenient for her.”
In addition to the nomination for “I Like It,” featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin, Cardi B’s “Invasion of Privacy” was nominated for Album of the Year and Rap Album of the Year.