Cardi B has responded to accusations of being ‘fatphobic’ following what she describes as an ‘unserious’ joke made to her fans.
The 32-year-old rapper finds herself in a social media controversy, stating she’s been ‘attacked from left to right’ after jokingly calling her BardiGang fans ‘fat as f***’.
This comment came after her 3XL merchandise quickly sold out online, and Cardi insists it was intended as a ‘joke’ with her followers.
Nevertheless, the remark has led to backlash with the New York artist criticized online for her insensitive choice of words.
“Oh my gosh, so I have a whole bunch of people crying talking about how I’m fatphobic,” Cardi explained in a TikTok video. “It was a joke between me and my fans like, ‘damn you fat motherf*****s, why you bought all the 3X that fast?’ It was an innocent joke between me and my fans.”
The Love & Hip Hop: New York star emphasized that the remark was not ‘serious’, explaining that she jokes about various topics and has herself faced body shaming since her BBL surgery.
“I don’t give a f*** if you’re fat, skinny, BBL-down, got big feet, got small feet, whatever, as long as you don’t stink. I don’t give a damn, you know what I’m saying? It’s never that serious. Don’t cry about it.”
Presenting a cake to the camera, the ‘WAP’ artist added: “If I got you so upset, here’s a cupcake.”
“I’m not going to apologize though.”
Nonetheless, as the mother of three stood firm, plus-size fashion influencer and activist Samyra Miller addressed the issue, encouraging Cardi to explore books to ‘unlearn fatphobia’.
“Just because someone else makes a joke doesn’t mean you have to make it, too,” she said addressing Cardi in her video. “And also maybe the reason why people feel so comfortable making fun of your BBL is because you do not command the respect that you so seek. Maybe if you stopped using fat people at the expense of jokes, then people wouldn’t do the same for your BBL.”
Recommending some literature, the influencer pointed out that the matter is not ‘something to be joked about, especially by someone as powerful as you’ and urged the ‘talented’ artist to ‘stand up’ for her fans ‘instead of standing against them’.
However, Cardi was not receptive to this advice, responding in another TikTok: “Girl, shut the f*** up. God damn, shut up already. It’s not that serious. Not everything is revolutionary. Not everything has to have a crazy outrage.
“I already did a video. I told you, it’s not that serious. What do you want me to do, get on my f***ing knees and apologize?”
In her response, the ‘Bodak Yellow’ singer advised the influencer to ‘calm down’ and reiterated that she would not be apologizing or reading a book on the subject.
In response, Samyra accused Cardi of ‘escalat[ing] the issue’ with her ‘vulgar’ and ‘dismissive’ remarks and has decided to take a break from social media for her mental well-being.
In her final words on the topic, Cardi stated: “I’m not going to give an apology because I wasn’t insulting you and if I’m giving you an apology, it will be fake and forced.”
“Maybe this situation could be solved a different way?”
The artist also expressed a preference for watching documentaries on gentrification-driven violence and history over reading books about fatphobia.
“Can you believe there has been like 300 videos on this topic when there are so many things going on in this world? It’s not a big deal, it’s really not, and it shouldn’t be,” she concluded.
UNILAD has reached out to Cardi’s representatives for comment.