Cardi B appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom on Tuesday to answer to a civil lawsuit connected to an encounter from 2018. The complaint was filed by security guard Emani Ellis, who says she was attacked outside a Beverly Hills medical office while Cardi was pregnant with her first child. Ellis alleges the star spit on her, used racial language, and left a mark on her face with her fingernails.

On the stand, Ellis described the incident as frightening. She recalled recognizing the Grammy-winning artist and blurting out, “That’s Cardi B.” According to Ellis, the rapper then came toward her in an aggressive manner. “She touched my nose but scratched my cheek,” Ellis testified, adding that the injury left her shaken.

Cardi B, whose legal name is Belcalis Almanzar, firmly rejected that account. According to ABC 7, speaking outside of court, she told reporters that “nobody touched” Ellis and insisted the altercation was purely verbal. Her defense team argued that Ellis was attempting to film Cardi on her phone as she walked into the doctor’s office, despite the rapper being visibly pregnant at the time. Cardi’s lawyers emphasized that she was simply protecting her privacy during a sensitive period in her life.

Legal analyst Brian Buckmire explained the defense position: “But according to Cardi’s defense, there was no physical altercation, what was a 60- to 90-second verbal altercation with no physical violence.” During cross-examination, attorneys challenged Ellis’ credibility, pointing to what they said were contradictions in her previous reports. Questions were raised about whether she was holding her phone close to her face or not, and whether she was touched on the nose or scratched on the cheek.

The case names several claims, including assault, battery, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false imprisonment. Ellis is pursuing monetary damages as the civil trial moves forward.