What Is the Cardi B Lawsuit?
The Cardi B lawsuit most commonly discussed today is a federal defamation case, Cardi B v. Latasha Kebe, that Cardi B filed and won against the YouTube blogger known as "Tasha K," not a class action or multidistrict litigation. The case, No. 1:19-cv-01301-WMR, was heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta.
Cardi B, whose legal name is Belcalis Almánzar, sued Latasha Kebe and a company Kebe owns over a series of 2018 and 2019 YouTube videos in which Kebe made statements Cardi B's complaint called "false, malicious and defamatory." A federal jury returned a verdict for Cardi B on January 24, 2022, and that judgment has since been affirmed on appeal.
"Cardi B lawsuit" is also used loosely to describe several other, legally distinct cases involving her, including a 2025 assault suit a security guard brought and lost, a music copyright dispute, an older album-art case, and a 2023 battery claim; those are summarized separately further down this page and should not be confused with the Tasha K case.
Why Was the Cardi B Lawsuit Filed?
The Cardi B lawsuit against Tasha K was filed because Kebe published YouTube videos in 2018 and 2019 that Cardi B's complaint says falsely accused her of being a prostitute, using cocaine, and having herpes. Kebe began "targeting" Cardi B in early 2018 with what the lawsuit calls "degrading and harassing statements," according to court filings and Associated Press reporting on the verdict.
The specific video central to the case was a September 19, 2018 upload in which Kebe interviewed a woman who said she had known Cardi B before her music career and repeated the prostitution, cocaine, and herpes claims on camera. Cardi B's complaint pleads that "none of the aforementioned statements" were true and that she "was never a prostitute or a user of cocaine" and has never had herpes.
Kebe's own attorneys said after the verdict that they disagreed with the jury's findings and intended to appeal, and Kebe has continued to dispute the case's underlying claims in subsequent public statements even after the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the judgment.
What Harms Does the Cardi B Lawsuit Allege?
The Cardi B lawsuit against Tasha K alleged three distinct legal claims arising from the same 2018-2019 videos: defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Each is defined in plain language below, followed by what the jury actually found on that specific claim.
Defamation
Defamation is a legal claim that a defendant published a false statement of fact about someone that damaged their reputation.
The jury found Tasha K liable for defamation based on her videos' claims that Cardi B used cocaine, had herpes, and worked as a prostitute, which Cardi B's complaint pleaded were false statements of fact rather than opinion or commentary.
Invasion of Privacy
Invasion of privacy, in this context, is a legal claim that a defendant publicized false or private information about someone in a way that placed them in a false light before the public.
Cardi B's complaint alleged Kebe's videos placed her in a false light by presenting fabricated claims about her health and personal conduct as established fact to a large public audience, and the jury found Kebe liable on this claim alongside defamation.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Intentional infliction of emotional distress is a legal claim that a defendant's extreme and outrageous conduct intentionally or recklessly caused someone severe emotional harm.
The jury's $250,000 medical-expenses award reflected its finding that Kebe's repeated videos caused Cardi B genuine emotional and psychological harm, not just reputational damage, supporting the intentional-infliction claim pleaded alongside defamation and invasion of privacy.
What Is the Current Status of the Cardi B Lawsuit?
The current status of the Cardi B v. Tasha K case is that the underlying judgment is final, while a newer, separate lawsuit over collecting that judgment remains active. The original jury verdict was never overturned on appeal.
Cardi B v. Latasha Kebe (Tasha K)
Cardi B filed this defamation case in the Northern District of Georgia, and a federal jury returned a verdict in her favor on January 24, 2022. Tasha K's attorneys said they planned to appeal, and the judgment was later affirmed.
| Court | U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta) |
| Case Number | 1:19-cv-01301-WMR |
| Plaintiff | Cardi B (Belcalis Almánzar) |
| Defendants | Latasha Kebe ("Tasha K") and a company she owns |
| Verdict Date | January 24, 2022 |
| Verdict | Liable on defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress; judgment later affirmed on appeal |
The jury awarded $1 million in general damages plus $250,000 in medical expenses; punitive damages added after the verdict brought the total judgment to nearly $4 million, according to reporting on the amended judgment.
Cardi B v. Cheickna Kebe and Yelen Entertainment, LLC
Cardi B filed a second, separate federal lawsuit on May 6, 2025, this time against Tasha K's husband, Cheickna Kebe, and his Florida company, Yelen Entertainment, LLC, in the Southern District of Florida.
| Court | U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida |
| Filed | May 6, 2025 |
| Plaintiff | Cardi B (Belcalis Almánzar) |
| Defendants | Cheickna Kebe and Yelen Entertainment, LLC |
| Allegation | Fraudulent transfer of business assets and income to avoid paying the 2022 Tasha K judgment |
| Status | Active as of this writing |
The complaint alleges Cheickna Kebe formed Yelen in May 2022, months after the jury verdict, then shifted the business and income of Kebe Studios, LLC (the company jointly liable for the original judgment) into Yelen before dissolving Kebe Studios, leaving it with no assets to satisfy the debt. Tasha K herself is not a named defendant in this second suit because her personal bankruptcy case was still active at filing, though the complaint alleges the transfers were carried out in coordination with her.
How Much Did Cardi B Win in the Tasha K Lawsuit?
Cardi B won a judgment against Tasha K worth nearly $4 million, combining the jury's original $1.25 million award with punitive damages added afterward.
The jury's January 2022 verdict awarded $1 million in general damages for pain, suffering, and reputational injury, plus $250,000 in medical expenses. Punitive damages assessed after the verdict brought the total judgment close to $4 million, and that judgment has since been affirmed on appeal rather than reduced or reversed.
Collecting the full judgment has become its own legal fight: Cardi B's May 2025 lawsuit against Tasha K's husband alleges he restructured their businesses specifically to make the nearly $4 million judgment uncollectable, an allegation that case is still litigating as of this writing.
Cardi B Lawsuit Updates
Cardi B lawsuit updates since the original 2022 verdict have centered on collecting the judgment rather than on the underlying liability finding, which was never overturned. The most significant recent development is Cardi B's 2025 fraudulent-transfer suit against Tasha K's husband.
Full Cardi B Lawsuit Timeline
Cardi B Sues Tasha K's Husband Over Alleged Fraudulent Transfers
Cardi B filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida against Cheickna Kebe and his company, Yelen Entertainment, LLC, alleging a coordinated scheme to move business income and assets out of reach after the 2022 judgment, attaching seven exhibits including the original and amended judgments and a forensic accounting analysis.
Jury Finds Tasha K Liable and Awards Cardi B $1.25 Million
A federal jury in Atlanta found Latasha Kebe liable for defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, awarding Cardi B $1 million in general damages and $250,000 in medical expenses; punitive damages added afterward brought the total judgment to nearly $4 million.
Defense Files Its Trial Exhibit List
Tasha K's defense team filed a 125-item exhibit list with the court ahead of trial, covering social-media posts, YouTube videos, and medical and financial records both sides sought to introduce, according to the court docket.
How Did Tasha K Respond to the Lawsuit's Allegations?
Tasha K's attorneys disputed the jury's verdict immediately and said they would appeal rather than accept the defamation finding, and Kebe has continued publicly disputing the case's underlying claims in the years since.
Kebe's lawyers said in a statement after the January 2022 verdict that they disagreed with the jury's findings and planned to challenge the decision. The Eleventh Circuit nonetheless affirmed the judgment on appeal rather than overturning it.
In the newer fraudulent-transfer case, Cardi B's complaint alleges that Cheickna Kebe testified under oath that Kebe Studios, LLC was dissolved specifically because it carried a judgment the company could not pay, a statement the new lawsuit treats as evidence supporting its asset-transfer allegations rather than a defense to them.
Is the Tasha K Case the Same as Cardi B's Other Lawsuits?
No. "Cardi B lawsuit" is used in search and in the news to describe several separate, legally distinct cases, and conflating them risks attaching one case's facts, amounts, or outcomes to a different case entirely.
The security-guard case, Emani Ellis v. Cardi B, sought $24 million over an alleged 2018 assault at a Beverly Hills medical office; a Los Angeles jury found Cardi B not liable on September 2, 2025, and a judge denied Ellis a new trial that December. The Kemika1956 copyright case, pending in the Southern District of Texas, alleges Cardi B's song "Enough (Miami)" infringes the duo's work; a federal judge there has denied the plaintiffs' request to pull the song from streaming. In an older, separate case, Cardi B prevailed in a roughly $5 million lawsuit over cover art used on one of her mixtapes. A 2023 Las Vegas concert incident, in which Cardi B threw a microphone at a crowd member, also produced a separate battery lawsuit. None of these four cases involves Tasha K, and none is the subject of the rest of this page.
| Case | Subject | Court | Reported Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardi B v. Latasha Kebe (this page) | Defamation over 2018-2019 YouTube videos | N.D. Georgia | Judgment for Cardi B, ~$4M, affirmed; collection suit active |
| Emani Ellis v. Cardi B | $24M alleged 2018 assault claim | Los Angeles Superior Court | Cardi B found not liable, Sept. 2025; new trial denied |
| Kemika1956 v. Cardi B | Copyright dispute over "Enough (Miami)" | S.D. Texas | Pending; injunction request denied as moot |
| Album cover-art case | Dispute over mixtape cover art | Not independently confirmed on this page | Cardi B prevailed, roughly $5M at issue |
| 2023 mic-throwing case | Battery claim from a Las Vegas concert incident | Not independently confirmed on this page | Reported lawsuit; outcome not confirmed on this page |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Cardi B lawsuit about?
The Cardi B lawsuit most often referenced today is Cardi B v. Latasha Kebe, a federal defamation case in which Cardi B sued YouTube blogger "Tasha K" over videos that falsely accused her of prostitution, cocaine use, and having herpes, and won.
Is the Cardi B lawsuit a class action?
No. The Tasha K case is a single-plaintiff defamation lawsuit, not a class action or multidistrict litigation, and there is no recruitable class of claimants to join for this or any of Cardi B's other individual lawsuits.
How much did Cardi B win against Tasha K?
A federal jury awarded Cardi B $1.25 million in January 2022, made up of $1 million in general damages and $250,000 in medical expenses; punitive damages added afterward brought the total judgment to nearly $4 million.
Has Cardi B actually collected the money from Tasha K?
Not fully, based on the May 2025 lawsuit Cardi B filed against Tasha K's husband, Cheickna Kebe, which alleges he and his company moved business assets and income out of reach specifically to avoid paying the nearly $4 million judgment.
Did Cardi B win the security guard lawsuit too?
Yes, but it is a separate case from the Tasha K matter. A Los Angeles jury found Cardi B not liable in Emani Ellis's $24 million assault lawsuit on September 2, 2025, and a judge denied Ellis a new trial that December.
Is the Tasha K case over?
The original defamation judgment is final and was affirmed on appeal, but Cardi B's newer lawsuit to collect on that judgment from Tasha K's husband and his company remains active as of this writing.