Cardi B admits dozing off during televised trial amid album rollout

Cardi B acknowledged on television Monday that she dozed off during her recent high profile civil trial, saying fatigue from a busy album rollout left her fighting sleep as her courtroom testimony aired nationwide. The Grammy Award winning rapper made the admission on The Jennifer Hudson Show, where she described nodding off during proceedings and said the trial, which concluded Sept. 2 in Alhambra, California, was unusually stressful because it was televised.

"I am not even going to lie, I was," Cardi said of the courtroom clip that went viral. "I had a long night. Im in the middle of an album rollout. I was so sleepy. I was trying to fight it." She added that she attempted a breathing technique to stay awake but ultimately fell asleep and that juggling court dates cost her important family time. "I missed my kids first day of school," she said.

The trial stemmed from a 2018 confrontation outside a Beverly Hills medical building in which former security guard Emani Ellis accused Cardi, born Belcalis Almánzar, of spitting on her, scratching her face and using racial slurs. Ellis filed a lawsuit in 2020 alleging assault and battery. Cardi denied any physical contact, saying the...