Sad Details About Cardi B
The following article includes brief references to domestic abuse.
Cardi B's undeniable star power makes it easy to forget that she didn't always have it so easy. The star is known for her down-to-earth personality, and maybe that's because she isn't a stranger to struggle. While the famous rapper now has a successful career and is worth a ton, she once faced financial hardships and a number of other battles. Of course, fame didn't eliminate all of Cardi B's problems. If fact, it came with its own set of challenges for the rapper. For example, she was criticized after calling out the Dalai Lama following the viral video of his inappropriate interaction with a young boy in 2023.
As challenging as Cardi B's past may have been, she seemingly isn't ashamed of it (nor should she be). "People say, 'Why do you always got to say that you used to be a stripper? We get it,'" the star said in an interview with Cosmopolitan in 2018. "Because y'all don't respect me because of it, and y'all going to respect these strippers from now on. ... Just because somebody was a stripper don't mean they don't have no brain." More on this below, but the star's confidence might explain why she's unapologetically herself. "Everybody gets bothered about everything," she said in the same interview. "Everybody got a f***ing opinion about you. If I change myself, then I'm going to lose myself, and I won't be who makes me happy."
It appears that the hardships the rapper has endured have only made her stronger. These sad details about Cardi B show just how resilient she is.
Takeoff's death took a toll on her
Many Cardi B fans know that the star is married to Migos rapper Offset. The Georgia native suffered a major loss when his fellow Migos group member, Takeoff, was shot and killed at a Houston, Texas bowling alley in November 2022. Takeoff's tragic death took a toll on both Cardi B and Offset. The couple found out about the rapper's murder while at home with their daughter, Kulture. Cardi B spoke about the heartbreaking moment during an interview for "The Jason Lee Show" in January 2023. "We just fell asleep, and out of nowhere, Offset phone kept ringing, my phone kept ringing," the "Bodak Yellow" rapper shared. "Offset picked up the phone, and he's just like, 'No!' He's screaming and screaming, 'No, no, no!' And I'm like, 'What's going on?' And he was like, 'Takeoff is dead.'"
She went on to explain that Offset then began throwing things, screaming, and running around the house. Cardi B also revealed how the tragedy impacted her home. "It was just such a sensitive time in my home. I just feel like everything was like so triggering," she said. Cardi B also spoke out about Takeoff's death in a touching tribute she shared to Instagram in 2022. "I am heartbroken but I am grateful for all the precious memories we got to share while you were here with us," she penned in part.
Cardi B's family struggled financially
Some stars are born into wealth and fame, but Cardi B's rise to the top wasn't that easy. She hasn't been shy about her humble beginnings. In fact, the rapper has been open about her difficult upbringing since the start of her career. She spoke about her family's past financial situation during an interview with "GlobalGrindTV" in 2016. "I have real good parents," Cardi B shared. "They poor, they have regular poor jobs ... and they're real good people and everything. I was just raised in a bad society."
Cardi B's childhood influenced her parenting decisions. In 2022, she took to Twitter to share how she's ensuring her kids' upbringing is completely different than hers. "I know I can be a little extra when it comes to my kids but I ain't really had s**t growing up soooo yea imma ball," the "WAP" rapper penned. The former "Love & Hip Hop" star's early years might explain why some find her so relatable. She's been known to speak out about issues that impact us non-celebrities. For example, the star once questioned why the wealthy seemed to have greater access to COVID-19 tests at the start of the pandemic. She also called out outrageous grocery prices.
It seems that Cardi B is still at least somewhat in touch with the realities of life for those who aren't rich and famous.
The rapper was kicked out of the house as a teen
Cardi B was forced to be independent from a young age because she was kicked out of her family's home at only 16 years old following a fight with her sister. The star detailed the timeline of events that led to this hardship during a 2019 interview with Vogue. She explained how began living with her boyfriend at the time after her parents forced her to leave, but recalled, "He didn't have a job, and I didn't have a job. Me and his mom used to smoke weed, and it's like, you're hungry but you're high and you cannot even, like, f***ing eat food because you don't have money for it."
The rapper went on to reveal that she eventually began working at an Amish Market to help make ends meet and also enrolled in college — but both endeavors were short-lived. Cardi B lost her job after her boss found out she was giving out unapproved discounts to customers. Prior to this, she dropped out of school after she failed English over racked-up absences.
This was clearly a difficult time in Cardi B's life. "At that time I just felt like my world was coming to an end," the "Be Careful" rapper explained. "I was that teenager who was like, I don't need nobody."
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
She turned to stripping to escape her dangerous living situation
As previously mentioned, Cardi B was left in a dangerous living environment after being kicked out of her family's home. While speaking with Vogue, she revealed how she craved independence, but she had second thoughts after her relationship became abusive. "My boyfriend kept cheating on me," the "Money" rapper revealed. "He and I used to get into arguments, hitting each other a lot. Girls like to say, 'I will beat a n***a's a**.' I used to have that mentality. I used to hit my first boyfriend, until he started hitting me back and it just got out of control."
Thankfully, the star soon found a way to escape her situation after her ex-boss from the Amish Market suggested she go apply to work at a local strip club — and it turns out that this advice changed her life. "I made enough money to move out," Cardi B told Vogue. The rapper spoke more about why she turned to stripping during an interview for "VladTV." "I was poor as hell," she said, adding of her living situation with her boyfriend and his mother, "It was crazy."
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
Cardi B's marriage hasn't been easy
Marriage hasn't been easy for Cardi B and Offset. If you've followed the rumors about their relationship, you probably know that their marriage is reportedly full of ups and downs. To recap their relationship timeline, the couple got married in a secret wedding in September 2017. Offset later proposed to Cardi B (yes, after they already tied the knot) during a concert that October. Things got a bit complicated from that point on.
In December 2017, it was reported that a video was leaked involving Offset and a naked woman. The rumors continued after a woman named Celina Powell came forward to allege that she was impregnated by the Migos rapper. She later claimed he paid her to get an abortion. In the end, Powell admitted to fabricating the story. Fans begged Cardi B to part ways with Offset due to the numerous cheating rumors, and she eventually took to Twitter to address all the buzz.
"Why is it a problem that I want to take my time with a decision on my relationship?" she penned in a since-deleted tweet in January 2018. "Why do I have to explain myself? I don't ask ya why you still with that man that lives with his mom, that don't pay your bills ... Since when you guys had perfect relationship?" At one point, Cardi B considered ending the marriage, because she filed for divorce in 2020. However, she called off the divorce later that year.
Bullying led her to undergo cosmetic surgery
Even celebrities aren't immune to being bullied in school. Cardi B has opened up about childhood bullies making fun of her looks, and it turns out their cruelty influenced her to get cosmetic surgery. The star spoke about her journey to going under the knife during a conversation with Mariah Carey for Interview magazine in 2021. When Carey asked the "Ring" rapper if she feels vindicated now that her former bullies can see her beauty and success, Cardi B responded, "I feel so vindicated. Even when I was 18 and became a dancer, I had enough money to afford to buy boobs, so every insecurity that I felt about my breasts was gone."
The star went on to share that she underwent another surgery when she was 20. Cardi B explained she began dancing at a strip club where dancers were expected to have bigger butts. The rapper got hers enhanced with the help of cosmetic surgery but shared that her high school insecurities also played a role in this decision.
Cardi B also experienced bullying because of her hair texture. "I'm Trini and I'm Dominican, and there's a lot of Dominicans that look a certain type of way," she told Interview magazine. "They have soft, pretty, curly hair. Growing up, guys would ask me weird questions like, 'If you're Dominican, why is your hair so nappy?'" Cardi B shared she gained confidence in her hair after learning how to properly care for it.
She had to defend her daughter against online trolls
Sadly, internet trolls don't only criticize celebrities — they also attack their children. Cardi B's daughter, Kulture, has been a victim of this bullying. Things got so bad that the star had to private the Instagram account she made to share photos of Kulture in February 2022. "Haven't been checking my daughter account but now I'm going to lock her page," Cardi B wrote in a since-deleted tweet. Users had penned cruel comments under photos of Kulture, who was only a toddler at the time. "Such a mistake child," one person wrote. We totally understand Cardi B's decision.
Unfortunately, social media users continued to make Kulture a topic of conversation. Cardi B took to Twitter once again that June to defend her daughter after a user tweeted, "Your daughter is literally autistic and you're on stan twitter instead of making sure she's not sticking her finger in outlets." The rapper fired back, writing, "My daughter is not autistic...You can't call her ugly so y'all have to diagnose her wit something. Go play in traffic b***h." She also wrote, "30,40,50 ...Don't bring my kids up on s**t...This is all because I put a video of me dancing and y'all wanted me to talk about [roe] vs wade ...WHY YALL BRING UP KIDS FOR? Wtf my kids gotta do wit yall misery?"
Some folks criticized Cardi B for her response. "You have every right to defend your child. I'm just trying to understand why saying a child is autistic would be used as an insult," one user penned.
Fame hasn't been easy for Cardi B
Cardi B is one of the world's most well-known female rappers, so she's become very familiar with the ups and downs of fame. Like many stars, she's struggled to cope with the spotlight. Cardi B opened up about her feelings toward fame in an Instagram live stream in May 2022. She took to the platform to vent after she apparently received backlash for a joke she made while hosting a party. "I hate fame," the rapper said during the stream. "I hate being famous. ... I really hate it."
Cardi B even went on to reminisce on what her life was like before fame. "If I could click my f***ing feet three times and go back to f***ing 2013 when I was just a regular b***h dancing and making money every single night, that's where I wanna be," she admitted. "That's when I was me."
This wasn't the only time the "I Like It" rapper admitted fame isn't for her. During an interview with ET in 2019, the star explained that her hefty salary comes with its own set of issues. "It's definitely harder, like, the more money the more problems the more people that think they know you," Cardi B shared. "It just gets harder. Some people don't understand the struggle and think it came easy for me, you know?" However, fans might be happy to hear that despite the stress, Cardi B revealed she's here to stay.