What to Know
- Rapper Cardi B faces a misdemeanor summons in connection with an August fight at a strip club in Queens
- Surveillance video shows her picking up an ice bucket and throwing it at two women working at the club during the wild melee
- She didn't show up to her initial scheduled arraignment due to a prior engagement; the judge allowed but says she has to show up on Friday
Cardi B showed up for her postponed New York City arraignment Friday, avoiding a bench warrant for her arrest that a judge had threatened to issue after a no-show earlier in the week.
The "Bodak Yellow" singer headed into court, escorted by police and her entourage, as throngs of photographers and reporters fought to get close. The court appearance, scheduled for late Friday morning, stems from charges from an August fight at a Queens strip club.
Cardi B faces a misdemeanor summons in connection with that fight. Surveillance video shows her picking up an ice bucket and throwing it at two sisters who were bartending, sources have told News 4.
At Friday's hearing, the judge ordered Cardi B to have no contact whatsoever with the two sisters and issued an order of protection for them. He also warned Cardi B to "please be very careful" with social media.
When he asked if all that was clear, the rapper nodded.
Prosecutors had asked for bail to be set at $2,500 but the judge said he felt she was not a flight risk and released her on her own recognizance. She's due back in court at the end of January.
Her attorney, Jeff Kern, said in court that his client has no criminal record. In the past, he has said he was "aware of no evidence that she caused anybody any harm." Neither he nor Cardi B spoke after they left court Friday.
Born Belcalis Almanzar, and a former stripper herself, Cardi B was at the club in College Point because her husband Offset was performing with his hip-hop trio Migos, according to police. She and her entourage got into an argument around 3 a.m. that Saturday with the two sisters, according to a source directly connected to the two alleged victims.
Cardi B apparently suspected one of the sisters was having an affair with Offset and had confronted the women, ages 21 and 23, in Atlanta on June 29, the sources said. The rapper announced this week she and Offset had split up.
Cardi B's "Invasion of Privacy" is among the nominees announced Friday for the 2019 Grammy Awards' album of the year. She scored a total of five nominations and found out about them at court. The rapper was pleased.