A heated exchange between rapper Cardi B and the lawyer for a\u00a0man suing her for copyright infringement\u00a0got so intense Wednesday that the judge briefly stopped the trial.<\/p>\n
The Grammy winner delivered pointed answers to several questions by attorney A. Barry Cappello, who is representing a man who claims the rapper misused his likeness on the cover of a 2016 mixtape.<\/p>\n
The testy back-and-forth between the Cappello and the star witness prompted U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney to send jurors out of the Santa Ana, California courtroom and tell both sides he was considering a mistrial.<\/p>\n After a break, he called the arguing \u201cunprofessional\u201d and \u201cnot productive\u201d but allowed questioning to resume \u2013 placing new restrictions for both sides.<\/p>\n Kevin Michael Brophy is seeking $5 million from Cardi B over the appearance of some of his distinctive back tattoos on the mixtape\u2019s artwork, which shows a tattooed man from behind with his head between the rapper\u2019s legs.<\/p>\n The rapper said she felt Brophy hadn\u2019t suffered any consequences as a result of the artwork, yet has harassed her legally for five years. At one point she said she missed a special moment with her youngest child, who recently turned one-year-old.<\/p>\n \u201cI have empathy for people,\u201d she said. \u201cI care about people. I feel like I\u2019m being taken advantage of. I missed my child\u2019s first step by being here.\u201d<\/p>\n Brophy told jurors Tuesday that he felt \u201chumiliated\u201d by the racy artwork.<\/p>\n At one point, Cardi B pointed out that the man\u2019s face cannot be seen in the artwork. Capello asked her to calm down, but she instead barked back at the lawyer\u2019s contention that she knew about photo-editing software used to put Brophy\u2019s tattoos \u2013 which have been featured in magazines \u2013 on another model\u2019s body.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not your client\u2019s back,\u201d she said about the image, which features a Black model. Brophy is white. The rapper said she posted a photo of the \u201cfamous Canadian model\u201d on her social media.<\/p>\n Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Almanzar, said an artist used only a \u201csmall portion\u201d of the tattoos without her knowledge. She had previously said the cover art \u2013 created by Timm Gooden \u2014 was transformative fair use of Brophy\u2019s likeness.<\/p>\n Cappello said Gooden was paid $50 to create a design but was then told to find another tattoo after he turned in an initial draft. He said Gooden googled \u201cback tattoos\u201d before he found an image and pasted it on the cover.<\/p>\n Cardi B\u2019s lawyer, Peter Anderson, said Brophy and the mixtape image are unrelated, noting the model did not have neck tattoos, which Brophy does.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not him,\u201d the rapper said. \u201cTo me, it doesn\u2019t look like his back at all. The tattoo was modified, which is protected by the First Amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n She said the image hasn\u2019t hindered Brophy\u2019s employment with a popular surf and skate apparel brand or his ability to travel the world for opportunities.<\/p>\n \u201cHe hasn\u2019t gotten fired from his job,\u201d said Cardi B, who implied that the mixtape was not a lucrative one for her. \u201cHe hasn\u2019t gotten a divorce. How has he suffered? He\u2019s still in a surf shop at his job. Please tell me how he\u2019s suffered.\u201d<\/p>\n Brophy, a self-described family man, said he sent a cease-and-desist letter to Cardi B\u2019s representatives to remove the image, but he never received a response. The rapper said she hadn\u2019t seen the letter.<\/p>\n At one point, Cardi B said she doesn\u2019t check her mailbox because that\u2019s for \u201cold people\u201d \u2013 leading some in the courtroom to chuckle.<\/p>\n When Cardi B left the courthouse, she was swarmed by around 30 high schoolers who were attempting to take selfies with her. As the rapper walked toward her vehicle with security, she smiled and waved before telling them she would be more responsive after the trial.<\/p>\n Last month, Cardi B\u00a0pleaded guilty\u00a0to a criminal case stemming from a pair of brawls at New York City strip clubs that required her to perform 15 days of community service.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the rapper was awarded $1.25 million in a\u00a0defamation lawsuit\u00a0against a celebrity news blogger who posted videos falsely stating she used cocaine, had contracted herpes and engaged in prostitution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Cardi](\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Cardi-B-1-610x1024.jpg\" "\\"Cardi")
![\"Cardi](\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Cardi-B-2.jpg\" "\\"Cardi")
![\"Cardi](\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Cardi-B-3.jpg\" "\\"Cardi")