Cardi B pleaded “not guilty, sir, honour,” in a New York courtroom on Tuesday, where she was arraigned on new charges stemming from a brawl last year at a Queens strip club.
The 26-year-old rapper, whose real name is Belcalis Almánzar, faces two felony counts of attempted assault as well as misdemeanour charges including harassment, criminal solicitation, conspiracy and reckless endangerment.
The rap star's lawyer Drew Findling told reporters outside the courthouse: “I know Cardi on a personal level. I know Cardi as a wife, as a mother, as a daughter, as a sister. It’ll ultimately be a positive outcome in favour of Cardi."
Prosecutors went to a grand jury for an indictment after Cardi rejected a plea deal on misdemeanour charges that would have given her a conditional discharge.
According to reports, at a concert on Saturday night, Cardi told fans: “I ain’t going to jail. I got a daughter!”
Cardi is accused of throwing chairs, bottles and a hookah at sisters Rachel Wattley, 21, and Sarah Wattley, 23, who work as bartenders at Angels strip club in Queens, on Aug. 29, 2018. The fracas allegedly started because Cardi believed one of the women had slept with her husband, Migos rapper Offset.
Last October, Cardi surrendered to police and was charged with two counts of reckless endangerment and one count of assault.