Cardi B says a "dentist appointment" stopped her from performing 'WAP' at the Presidential Inauguration.

Cardi B

Cardi B

The chart-topping rap star has jokingly claimed that she was supposed to perform the sexually-explicit song at the ceremony in Washington in Wednesday (20.01.21), when Joe Biden was sworn in as the new US President.

Cardi, 28 - who has more than 16 million Twitter followers - wrote on the micro-blogging platform: "Ugh I was supposed to perform wap at the inauguration today but I had a dentist appointment [cold sweat emojis] ....maybe next time . (sic)"

Cardi recorded the hit single with Megan Thee Stallion, and their eye-catching music video also featured the likes of Kylie Jenner and Normani.

However, the single divided public opinion, with some fans praising the sex-positive message, while critics slammed the explicit lyrics.

Despite the criticism, Cardi insisted she doesn't think there's anything unusual about the track.

She said last year: "The people that the song bothers are usually conservatives or really religious people, but my thing is I grew up listening to this type of music.

"Other people might think it's strange and vulgar, but to me it's almost like really normal, you know what I'm saying?"

Cardi also thinks that the song's chart success proves her point.

She explained: "You wanna know something? It's what people wanna hear. If people didn't wanna hear it, if they were so afraid to hear it, it wouldn't be doing as good."

The rap star is determined to empower other women through her music.

Cardi - who has Kulture, two, with rapper Offset - said: "My music is always going to make a woman feel like a bad b****. When you make a woman feel like she's the baddest b**** in the room, to me, that's female empowerment."