‘Which one is your real hair?’ Rapper’s wigs and nails baffle lawyers in court

Cardi B has been in the spotlight this week after taking the witness stand in Los Angeles to tell a court she did not attack a security guard who is suing her for assault.

The colourful US rapper is accused of cutting Emani Ellis’s cheek with a 3in (7.5cm) fingernail and spitting on her during an altercation outside an doctor’s office in 2018, leaving the guard “deeply traumatised”.

Cardi testified that Ms Ellis invaded her privacy by filming and following her against her will and telling someone on the phone about her appointment for a pregnancy that wasn’t yet public knowledge. There was a “verbal fight”, the star said – but she insisted it “didn’t get physical”.

During the evidence, various moments from the civil trial have gone viral, as have some of Cardi B’s comments and facial expressions on the stand.

The trial is expected to conclude next week. Here’s a round-up of what has happened so far.

The case revolves around Cardi B’s arrival for an obstetrics appointment, when she was four months pregnant with her first child.

The rapper told the court on Tuesday that when she stepped out of an elevator, Ms Ellis, who was working as a security guard in the building, told someone on the phone that the star was there, then followed her down a hallway.

The performer, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, added that Ms Ellis appeared to record her on her phone and refused to “back up”, before a face-to-face “verbal altercation” ensued.

She admitted shouting an obscenity at Ms Ellis while telling her to “get out of my face”, adding: “We’re literally screaming at each other.”

Her lawyer noted how the star had “feared for her unborn baby” and also accused Ms Ellis of having “changed your story”.

Ms Ellis earlier told the court she said the rapper’s name aloud out of excitement when she saw her, but didn’t tell anyone she was there and didn’t film her.

Ms Ellis claims the rapper accused her of trying to spread news about her being at the doctor’s office, then hurled insults and threats, and attacked her.

A plastic surgeon testified that he had treated Ms Ellis for a “hyper-sensitive” scar on her cheek, “most likely” caused by fingernails, after first examining her in 2022.

The doctor Cardi was visiting on the day of the altercation in 2018 and his receptionist also gave evidence, mostly backing up the rapper’s account by saying they didn’t see her hit Ms Ellis.

Ms Ellis sued the star in 2020 for assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress as well as negligence and false imprisonment.

As the trial continued, videos and memes of Cardi B’s comments on the stand, and her animated facial expressions, were shared widely online.

“Cardi gave us looks, comedy and a bunch of memes,” wrote one X user. Another called her “pure comedy”.

“Cardi B in court today was like an SNL [Saturday Night Live] skit,” wrote one X user in a post that has been viewed more than six million times.

They posted a video in which Cardi B was asked by the attorney: “If you wanted to scratch or cut her face with your right or your left hand, if you wanted to do it, you could’ve done it, right? You’re not disabled?”

“But I didn’t because I had a baby inside me,” she responded.

The attorney replied: “Are you disabled? Yes or no?”

“At that moment, when you’re pregnant, I’m very disabled. Do you want me to tell you things I can’t do?” she said, prompting laughter in the courtroom.

In another section of the cross-examination, Cardi B said she was “very concerned” during the encounter with Ms Ellis.

“Why were you concerned?”, the attorney asks.

With an eye roll and a shrug, Cardi B exclaimed: “Because I’m pregnant! And this girl is about to f****** beat my ass. Hello?”

“Hello?” The attorney responded. “Hello, I’m here.”

Others shared videos of an exchange in which Cardi B was asked if she thought Ms Ellis was bigger than her.

“Absolutely,” Cardi B responded. When asked how she knew that, she gesticulated and pointed at her eyes, and shook her head incredulously. “I mean, look,” she said.

“I’m looking,” the attorney responded.

“You have her medical records, right?” Cardi B says.

“I don’t have anything,” he retorted.

Cardi B then smiled and flicked her hair. “I mean, I was 130lb at the time,” she said.

“So she’s overweight?” the lawyer asked. “Did you call her fat?”

“No. I was calling her a b****,” Cardi B replied.

Cardi B sported a range of different hairstyles for her court appearances this week, including a black pixie cut one day and long blonde locks the next.

In one widely shared moment, an attorney asked Cardi B about her hair.

“Yesterday you had black hair, short hair. Today it’s blonde and long. Which one is your real hair? Or are they both real?”

“They’re wigs,” Cardi B replied with a laugh and a coy look.

“OK. Sorry, I didn’t know that. It’s a good wig today, then,” the attorney replied.

He then moved on to Cardi B’s fingernails, asking her how long they were.

“Just your best estimate, I don’t want you to take a ruler to it,” he said.

“It has to be less than an inch,” she responded.

When asked whether they were pointy, she replied: “To me they’re not pointy, they’re like, circle.”

After establishing that the nails were, in fact, fake, a discussion then followed about how she removes them, and how easy it is to replace them.

While some people on social media were amused by line of questioning, others questioned whether it could be interpreted as racist or misogynistic.

“This lawyer 100% is trying to enforce a racist stereotype of a black woman asking about her hair and nails,” said one X user.

Another asked why the attorney asked those questions, saying: “Black and Latina women are always scrutinised for their hair.”

Media lawyer Jonathan Coad says social media has “completely changed” how much prominence trials like this receive.

“Courts have always had drama. But before, these sorts of trials were just written about in the newspapers, the following day.

“Now, everything is played out in real time on social media. In America, they have cameras in courts, so you can actually watch it all happening,” he said.

“If you add to that the fascination we have with celebrities, then you’ve got absolutely ripping content.”

Mr Coad said Cardi B may well have been encouraged by her lawyers to use “all of her charm and persuasive power” in the witness box.

A jury trial is “essentially a popularity contest”, he said. “That’s what it becomes.”

Cardi B is best known for hits such as I Like It, Up, Bodak Yellow and WAP – a duet with Megan Thee Stallion.

The singer, who has three children, won a Grammy award in 2019 for her debut studio album Invasion of Privacy.