Cardi B has admitted two offences arising from a brawl in a strip club, as part of a deal that means she will avoid a trial and possible jail time.<\/p>\n
The Grammy-winning rapper, born Belcalis Almanzar, pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and second-degree reckless endangerment and was sentenced to 15 days of community service.<\/p>\n
Ten other charges were dismissed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve made some bad decisions in my past that I am not afraid to face and own up to,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n
In court, the 29-year-old admitted organising and participating in two attacks on employees of the Angels nightclub in New York in 2018.<\/p>\n
According to authorities, the incidents grew out of a feud between Almanzar and two sisters \u2013 one of whom she believed was having an affair with her husband, the rapper Offset.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said that, on the first night, Almanzar and her entourage struck the victim, a bartender, pulling her hair, punching her and slamming her head into the bar.<\/p>\n
Two weeks later, they returned, throwing alcohol, bottles and a hookah pipe at the first victim\u2019s sister.<\/p>\n
Asked to confirm the details in court, Almanzar did so quietly, admitting she had offered a friend $5,000 (\u00a34,000) over Instagram to assist her in the confrontation.<\/p>\n
As well as community service, the rapper has been ordered to stay away from the victims, identified as Jade and Baddie Gi, for three years.<\/p>\n
She accepted the plea deal one day before the case was due to come to trial, the New York Times reported.<\/p>\n The musician\u2019s lawyer, Drew Findling, said she wanted to draw a line under the case.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are too many things that she has planned for her family, for her career and for the community and she just felt, quite honestly, that a three-week jury trial was going to be a distraction from the things that she felt was most important and so, hence, we made contact with the prosecution,\u201d\u00a0he told the New York Post.<\/p>\n In her statement, the rapper said: \u201cPart of growing up and maturing is being accountable for your actions. As a mother, it\u2019s a practice that I am trying to instil in my children, but the example starts with me.<\/p>\n \u201cThese moments don\u2019t define me and they are not reflective of who I am now.\u201d<\/p>\n Melinda Katz, the Queens district attorney, said in a statement: \u201cNo-one is above the law. In pleading guilty today, Ms Belcalis Almanzar and two co-defendants have accepted responsibility for their actions.\u201d<\/p>\n Cardi B rose to fame with the track Bodak Yellow in 2017, topping the Billboard chart and becoming one of rap\u2019s most colourful and outspoken performers.<\/p>\n Her debut album, Invasion of Privacy, won the Grammy for best reap album in 2019, and she has scored global number one hits with the Latin-flavoured I Like It and the X-rated WAP, a duet with Megan Thee Stallion.<\/p>\n After Thursday\u2019s hearing at Queens County Criminal Court in New York, she was mobbed by dozens of fans and court employees.<\/p>\n \u201cIn all my years of covering court cases, I\u2019ve never seen this,\u201d\u00a0said NBC news reporter Melissa Colorado on Twitter<\/a>. \u201cCourt staff cheering for a defendant who accepted a plea deal as she walks out of the court room.\u201d<\/p>\n One employee even asked the rapper for a photo, Colorado added.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t,\u201d Almanzar replied.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Rapper](\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1663328048_996_image-131.png\" "\\"Rapper")