Watch Cardi B Make Courtroom Laugh When Asked to Define ‘Altercation’

Cardi B left the courtroom laughing after taking the stand in her assault trial.

While facing questions about a 2018 incident with accuser Emani Ellis on Tuesday (August 26), the rapper repeatedly denied physically assaulting the woman, saying, “She didn’t hit me, I didn’t hit her. There was no touch. So to me, it wasn’t no incident.”

The “Enough (Miami)” rapper also firmly answered “no” when asked if she had spat on Ellis, called her the N-word, or tried to swing at her.

The plaintiff’s attorney referred to an earlier moment in court when Cardi described the incident as a “verbal altercation” and asked her if she knew what the word “altercation” means.

“Like a conflict,” Cardi answered.

“Like a fight, right?” the attorney continued.

“Yeah, it was like a verbal fight, but it was, it didn’t get physical at all,” Cardi insisted.

“When I’m talking to you now, are we having a verbal altercation?” the attorney asked.

“We [were] having, we’ll say,” Cardi pondered as she clicked her tongue before pitching her voice in a playful tone. “A debate.”

Cardi’s response prompted audible laughter from the courtroom.

Earlier in the trial, the rapper also made the court chuckle when a lawyer asked about her changing hairstyles between court dates. After being asked which hair was real, she smiled and said, “They’re wigs.”

The Invasion of Privacy rapper is on trial over a 2018 incident with Ellis, who was working as a security guard at an obstetrics and gynecology facility in Beverly Hills when the alleged confrontation occurred.

Ellis alleged that Cardi scratched her face with a fingernail she described as “about two or three inches long,” attempted to swing at her but missed, before body-shaming her, calling her a racial slur, and spitting on her.

Cardi’s team disputed the allegations.
ComplexCon returns to Las Vegas on October 25–26, 2025, with over 300 brands and live performances by Young Thug, YEAT & Friends, Peso Pluma, Central Cee, Ken Carson, and more. Get your tickets now.