Not Liable: L.A. Jury Rejects $24 Million Claim Against Cardi B

Chrisallmeid, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cardi B beat a $24 million civil lawsuit on Tuesday, as a Los Angeles County jury found her not liable over a 2018 hallway confrontation at a Beverly Hills OB-GYN’s office. “I would say this on my death bed: I did not touch the woman,” the rapper said outside the Alhambra courthouse after the verdict.

The plaintiff, Emani Ellis, a former security guard, alleged that Cardi B scratched her face with a fingernail, spat on her and verbally abused her — claims Ellis said led to lasting injury and the loss of her job. Cardi B, whose legal name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, denied any physical contact and testified the dispute began because Ellis appeared to be recording her while she was secretly pregnant.

"I did not touch that woman."

Cardi B spoke to reporters outside of court after being found not liable in civil suit. pic.twitter.com/kkliqL8Xip

— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) September 2, 2025

Jurors heard from Tierra Malcolm, a receptionist at the doctor’s office, who said she stepped into the hallway after hearing a commotion and saw Ellis cornering Cardi — not the other way around. Defense attorneys also emphasized that Ellis did not file a police report at the time and did not seek immediate medical care.

Cardi B was won her civil assault trial in California.

A Los Angeles County jury declared her not liable on all claims from a former security guard who claimed she assaulted her in 2018. pic.twitter.com/qaFp8MCQhI

— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) September 2, 2025

Inside the courtroom, the exchanges were blunt. Asked by the plaintiff’s lawyer if she was angry, Cardi replied, “Yes, I was angry because I’m pregnant! And this girl’s about to beat my ass. Hello?” Pressed on whether she called Ellis “fat,” she answered, “No. I was calling her a b**.**” In closing, her lawyer attacked the injury narrative: “She claims that Cardi mauled her … cut her face, and this woman went home … She took a nap.”

After the verdict, Cardi thanked supporters and said the case pulled her away from family time. “Because of this, I missed my kids’ first day of school,” she said, adding a warning about future claims: “Don’t ever think that you’re going to file a frivolous lawsuit against me and I’m just going to give you my money … Next time, I’m going to countersue."

‘New Edition Way’ Unveiled as Boston Salutes the Group During for the Culture Week

Boston honored New Edition on Saturday with the unveiling of ‘New Edition Way’ in Roxbury and a proclamation of ‘New Edition Day’ during For the Culture Week.

Saturday. Boston didn’t just throw a party — it changed the map. As part of For the Culture Week, the city renamed Dearborn Street as “New Edition Way” and proclaimed “New Edition Day,” anchoring a four decade story of melody, brotherhood and Black Boston pride to a specific corner in Roxbury.

Mayor Michelle Wu led the ceremony at Ambrose and Albany — steps from Orchard Gardens, the housing community where the group first found its blend. “And now I have the honor of officially declaring today New Edition Day,” she said as the crowd cheered.

All six members — Ralph Tresvant, Bobby Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe and Johnny Gill — returned for the honor as neighbors and families filled the block. Latoyia Edwards of NBC10 Boston emceed; a community block party at the Orchard Gardens Boys & Girls Club kept the celebration going.

So much has changed in our lives and the world these past four decades, but New Edition have remained a constant — a source for joy, romance, and the soundtrack of our lives, loves and heartbreak.

They've made it possible to get through some of the toughest times in our lives.… pic.twitter.com/0VOTL7FMfP

— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) September 1, 2025

Onstage, the group credited the neighborhood for the discipline, style and support that carried them from talent shows to stadiums — and back to the corner where it began. “New Edition Way is the way life is for us and has been for us for a long time,” Brown said. Tresvant added, “Everything we learned … our attitude, our swag is from all of y’all, man. We got what we got from here.”

They also spoke to longevity. “One of the hardest things in this industry to do is to stay together,” Bell told the crowd. “We’ve been through so much together … and the thing that keeps bringing us back is we remember where we came from. Orchard Park Projects was the very beginning of New Edition.”

Gill offered a note of gratitude — and a reminder: “You’re looking at all six of us here … nothing lasts forever … while we’re here, we should learn to love on each other, appreciate each other, and know tomorrow’s not promised.” A final salute to the city followed: “There’s something about this place … we stick together, we rep together, and we’re always going to be one. One love to Boston.”

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley widened the frame, calling New Edition “a source for joy, romance, and the soundtrack of our lives, loves and heartbreak,” and reminding the city that Black history is American history. She congratulated the six members and longtime mentor Brooke Payne, and thanked the Orchard Park community, Mayor Wu and former Mayor Kim Janey for helping make the moment possible.

City paperwork matched the pride. The proclamation designates Aug. 30 as “New Edition Day” going forward; the honorary co-naming fixes “New Edition Way” on Dearborn Street; and the chosen corner — Ambrose and Albany — places the sign within walking distance of the group’s origin point. For neighbors who showed up with kids on their shoulders, that precision mattered.

It also tracks the arc. From “Candy Girl” in 1983 to solo careers, supergroups and reunions, New Edition wrote a playbook — tight harmonies, choreography, style — that still echoes in today’s pop and R&B. Putting their name on a street does more than celebrate six men; it tells the next crew exactly where excellence came from — and how close it still is.

BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards: T-Pain Gets President’s Award; ‘Not Like Us’ Wins Song of the Year

T-Pain

At the BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles on Thursday, the spotlight shifted from celebrity to craft. The organization centered the people who decide whether a song lives on — the hook writer, the lyricist, the producer. T-Pain received the President’s Award, a formal nod to two decades of melodic language and digital vocal color that moved from controversy to common practice.

“Don’t let anyone dictate your time … Let yourself be your own time measurement,” he told the room — a plain credo from an artist whose once-debated sound is now shared grammar across rap and R&B.

The pipeline that powers today’s hits was front and center GloRilla accepted the Impact Award and — in a rare outcome — shared Songwriter of the Year with Tay Keith and Mike Dean after each co-wrote three of BMI’s 35 Most-Performed R&B/Hip-Hop Songs of the year. Those credits sketch three lanes: club-built anthems (“TGIF,” “Wanna Be,” “Yeah Glo!”), cross-format studio architecture (“One of the Girls,” “Popular,” “Type Shit”) and Memphis drum design made for scale (“First Person Shooter,” “Get It Sexyy,” “MELTDOWN”).

BMI named “Not Like Us” Song of the Year, crediting Kendrick Lamar along with the late Ray Charles, Sean Momberger and Sounwave. The organization said the track debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in May 2024 and spent 53 consecutive weeks on the chart — reported as the longest-charting rap song in the survey’s history. However you feel about the feud behind it, the run shows songcraft meeting moment.

The producer’s chair took a bow, too. Sounwave earned Producer of the Year for a stretch that includes Lamar’s “Euphoria,” “6:16 in LA” and “Not Like Us,” plus high-profile pop work — credits on Taylor Swift’s Lover and Midnights and Beyoncé’s The Lion King: The Gift and Cowboy Carter. Same architect, different buildings.

On the business side, Sony Music Publishing was named Publisher of the Year, representing 23 of the year’s most-performed titles, including “Agora Hills,” “Not Like Us,” “MILLION DOLLAR BABY,” “Mmhmm,” “On My Mama” and “Saturn.” Even in a creator-first era, placement, licensing and long-tail stewardship still determine how far a song travels.

The show balanced established names with next-ups. BigXthaPlug opened with “The Largest” and his BMI-winning “Mmhmm,” followed by BossMan Dlow with “Mr Pot Scraper” and “Get In With Me.” A Know Them Now segment introduced Eli Derby (“Cadillac Dream”), TA Thomas (“Preach”) and Lekan (“Always”). BMI’s Mike Steinberg, EVP and Chief Revenue & Creative Officer, and Catherine Brewton, Vice President, Creative, Atlanta, hosted the private event at the Fairmont Century Plaza.

Taken together, the night argued for a simple order: honor the craft and the culture stays healthy. T-Pain’s toolkit is now the toolkit. GloRilla’s pen, Tay Keith’s stomp and Mike Dean’s engineering show how regional feel, studio detail and melody keep reshaping the mainstream. Sounwave’s trophy underscores the point — producers aren’t background credits, they’re architects.

Key honors
President’s Award: T-Pain
Impact Award: GloRilla
Songwriter of the Year (tie): GloRilla; Mike Dean; Tay Keith
Song of the Year: “Not Like Us” — Kendrick Lamar, Ray Charles, Sean Momberger, Sounwave
Producer of the Year: Sounwave
Publisher of the Year: Sony Music Publishing
Also recognized among top producers: Carter Lang; Metro Boomin; Sean Momberger; MTech