Cardi B this week faced the resurfacing of a three-year-old Instagram Live video, which saw the rapper admitting to drugging and robbing men who wanted to have sex with her during her time as a stripper, before her fame. For many, it was a shocking clip to see, and it has led to the outspoken talent addressing the controversy in a new social media post.
Taking to her Instagram account, she wrote: "All I can do now is be a better me for myself my family and my future." She attached a note which also mentioned that she 'never claimed to be perfect or come from a perfect world'. You can check it out in full below:
The aged video's re-emergence pushed for some to get the hashtag #SurvivingCardiB trending - in relation to the Surviving R Kelly docuseries. That show saw accusations against Kelly resurface including some of sexual, physical and mental abuse. The six-part series aired before his arrest earlier this year.
If what Cardi has said in the past is true, she has indeed acted in an illegal manner. If she's accepted money for sex work, and then drugged men so that she can rob them and flounce off into the night, that's something that should shock us all. We cannot pick and choose which celebrities to be ashamed of when it comes to matters like this.
There are however those that are now rushing to her defence. They say that, because there isn't a huge media furore surrounding male rappers when they write lyrics about pimping out women and shooting people, then we should not be able to call out Cardi for her past actions. In one regard, they're right. If these lyrics are factual, we shouldn't be glorifying them.
But Cardi was talking in a personal video about her actual life, and we have to hold everybody in the entertainment industry to the same standard. She admitted a criminal act. One that would (rightfully so) disgust millions across the globe and more than likely land up in multiple felony charges if admitted by a male rapper.
Her excuses are that it was a hard period in her life, and she had to do what she had to do to survive. But there are thousands of other people who are struggling, and who make it by without resorting to drugging and robbing others.
What exactly would happen now if a man came forward and claimed to be a victim of the admitted drugging and robbery?
Cardi may have made history earlier this year when she was announced as the first ever solo female to win the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, but her legacy has now been tainted forever because of the actions of her past.
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