Cardi B took the witness stand Tuesday in her ongoing civil trial against former security guard Emani Ellis, delivering her side of a heated confrontation that occurred at a Beverly Hills medical building in 2018. The Grammy-winning rapper testified in an Alhambra, California, courtroom about an incident that happened while she was four months pregnant and trying to keep her pregnancy private. The 32-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Belcalis Almanzar, was visiting her obstetrician’s office on February 24, 2018, when she encountered Ellis working security in the building. According to TMZ’s Cardi B’s testimony, Ellis was loudly announcing her presence and appeared to be recording her with a smartphone, which led to the confrontation between the two women. During her testimony, Cardi B admitted to calling Ellis a “b****” after she felt the security guard was following her and recording without permission. The “Bodak Yellow” rapper explained that she confronted Ellis about the recording, saying “You’re recording me. Now you’re following me, like backup.” When Ellis allegedly responded, “I can do what I want,” Cardi B replied, “No, you can’t. You can’t do what you want,” which escalated into a verbal argument where both women exchanged harsh words. Cardi B denies physical contact despite assault claims The rapper strongly denied any physical contact occurred during the incident, despite Ellis claiming on Monday that Cardi B struck her and used a long fingernail to slice her left cheek. When asked to show her fingernails to the courtroom, Cardi B testified they were “less than an inch” long. She maintained that Ellis was much larger than her at 240-250 pounds and that she would not try to physically attack someone bigger than herself. Ellis has also accused Cardi of making body-shaming remarks and aiming racist slurs at her during the alleged altercation. As reported by Cheatsheet, she also claims the singer spat on her and the injury to her face needed plastic surgery. Ellis had filed the civil lawsuit in February 2020, originally seeking damages for assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and false imprisonment. She initially claimed that Cardi B had her fired from her job, but dropped that claim on Monday, testifying instead that she was terminated for a HIPAA violation. Oh my God, this lawyer suing Cardi B."Which one is your real hair? Or are they both real?" plaintiff's lawyer Ron Rosen asked."They're wigs," Cardi B answered.Then he asked if she's affiliated with a gang. pic.twitter.com/KrzgMhDm0F— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) August 26, 2025 Cardi B’s defense attorney Peter Anderson painted a different picture of the incident, describing Ellis as the aggressor who was “hovering over her, yelling and screaming at her, taking swings at her.” Anderson told the jury that Ellis yelled “I will fk your st up” before someone intervened and removed her from the situation. The lawyer emphasized that Cardi B was pregnant at the time and had taken special steps to keep her medical visit confidential, as she had not yet publicly announced her pregnancy with her first child, Kulture. The trial comes at a time when Cardi B has faced other legal challenges, including a recent lawsuit from a woman who claimed to be hit by a microphone the rapper threw during a Las Vegas performance. The current case is expected to continue through the week, with Ellis seeking monetary damages for what she claims were physical and emotional injuries from the 2018 incident.