This archive report was first published on 11 December 2019.
On December 10, 2019, Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B appeared in a Queens courtroom, facing charges related to a 2018 strip club brawl in New York.
Cardi B, 27, was accompanied by her lawyers, Jeff Kern and Drew Findling, who argued that the defence should have access to social media evidence currently available to prosecutors.
The hearing was a 'control date' for both sides to discuss scheduling and legal issues, including the defence's bid to obtain direct messages from Instagram involving the complainants.
Cardi B's lawyers had submitted a subpoena to Facebook, which owns Instagram, but their request was denied.
Judge Joseph Zayas requested both parties to meet and reach an agreement for the defence to access the Instagram messages.
He set a hearing for the two other defendants involved in the case for January 17, but excused Cardi B from attending.
Cardi B's lawyer, Jeff Kern, insisted on her client's innocence, stating, "the case is not close to going to trial."
Cardi B's rise to fame began during her days as a stripper, when she carved out a social media personality on platforms including Instagram.
On August 29, 2018, Cardi B was in the Angels Strip Club in Queens when her entourage reportedly lobbed bottles, chairs, and a hookah pipe, which police said bruised a female employee's legs.
Cardi B allegedly ordered an attack on two sisters working at the club because one of them was rumoured to have slept with her husband, rapper Offset.
