¶ Intro / Opening
This episode contains strong language and discussions of suicidal ideation, which may not be suitable for everyone. Please see the episode notes for more information about support services.
¶ Introduction and Cardi B's Rise
Matt, what's the craziest rumor that's ever been spread about you? Do you remember off the top of your head? The first thing that comes to mind is I've been on like a fitness journey over the past several years. I've lost weight. And I never really talk about like you know, I just went to the gym, but I'll post a picture of myself and people in the comments will be like, How did you lose weight? Basically Someone with the utmost confidence was like he had surgery. As if like it had
said it before and like they were just like, yeah, he had surgery and I was like, no, I didn't. They're talking like they know you. It was like so confident and like multiple comments from the same person. What? Yeah, like they had read an interview where I said this and they were like, yeah, yeah. I'm actually Matt's best friend, and let me say the surgery was tough for all of us, but I nursed him back to health. Listen, there's that parasocial relationship thing. Oh god.
Well, today we are delving into a parasocial relationship of sorts, but let me start off by asking, what do you know about Cardi B? I mean, not much. I'm pretty sure she used to be a stripper, right? I know she did the classic children's song, Wet Ass. you know, P the Kids Bop original. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Kids Bop Original WAP. She is Cardi B from The Bronx. And you're correct, she did start out as a stripper. And while she was doing that, she got
Pretty famous on social media because she just had a bunch of videos keep going viral. She's very known for like her great one-liners, and she's got a really fun sense of humor. And She is probably one of like the most charismatic public figures right now, I think. Yeah, she's objectively a hilarious person. She's just a character. And I can't even believe I'm asking this because I know the answer is yes. But do you remember her short stint on Love and Hip Hop? Yeah. Your favorite show?
I I never missed an episode. Yeah. Then of course you'll know that she was a fan favorite. As I said, like classic one liners such as this one. A girl have beef for me, she gon' have beef for me. Whatever. It's fun, but also like vaguely threatening. Yeah, so that was back in twenty fifteen, just at the start of her career. And from there she starts dating the rapper Offset.
Who takes her to the Super Bowl on their first date? Their first date? Their first date, he takes her to the Super Bowl, which is like, okay. Wild. But I guess That to me is more crazy just because that's like a straight people thing and not not because it's like a celebrity thing. I'm like, oh yeah, I guess a football game for your first date, that's fun. Yeah. And then she drops her debut single, Bodak Yellow. You remember this song. Mm-hmm.
Gotta dance, I make money more. Also a classic. That song unsurprisingly reaches number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and this makes Cardi B a household name. It'll eventually go on to be certified 10 times platinum and it's the first single to ever do that for a female rapper. So you know, she's trailblazing and she's
¶ Cardi B Declares War on Tasha K
Huge. But then one day, Cardi gets on Instagram Live and she starts talking about someone that most of us do not know. Cardi's sitting on her bed with a towel wrapped around her head and she's going off. We don't have access to that live anymore, but thanks to the internet and all of its power, I was able to find a copy. Here's a little bit from it. So there's this blogger lady that fing hates the shit out of me, and I'm gonna sue her ass.
And I don't think Cardi says anything that she's not gonna do. I just love the idea of you are literally sitting in bed with a towel wrapped around your head, like declaring war on someone. That's Social media. Truly. But it doesn't stop there. Cardi goes on to say more. But when you harass my friends and talk shit about my friends, and when you put my daughter in your fing mouth.
That's when I have a fing problem. That's a threat with conviction behind it. So the blogger lady that Cardi B is talking about is Tasha Kay. So Tasha Kay is a YouTuber with nearly 1 million subscribers who's been trashing Cardi B for months now and making horrible defamatory claims. But up until now, Cardi's been ignoring her. So, what changed? Cardi's just gotten wind of a video where Tasha dragged Cardi's daughter, Hulcher, into the fight. And now the gloves are off.
Because it's been made very clear, you do not mess with Cardi's kids. And she's about to wreak havoc on Tasha Kay. From Wondery, I'm Sydney Battle. And I'm at Belisai. This is a David and Goliath story, which I understand we say a lot of the time at Distantel. Like I understand we have a lot of David and Goliath stories, but This one has a twist that none of us saw coming, where we're actually rooting for Goliath this time around.
The whole thing comes to a head in a courtroom showdown, and you know how much I love those. Oh yeah. When a feud ends in court, I'm seated. I'm in the corner like rubbing my hands together like a little gremlin or something. This is Cardi B. and Tasha Kay. Okay, let's rewind a bit. It's the fall of 2018 and Tasha Kay is doing pretty well for herself. She has a YouTube channel called Unwind with Tasha Kay. Oh no, is that a wine? It is, and she drinks wine, much like yourself, Matthew.
¶ Tasha K Spreads False Allegations
Most of the videos involving Cardi have been taken down at this point, and we'll get to why in a second. But I feel like you need to hear Tasha speak so you can get a full sense of her. Here's a random clip I found of her talking about Nick Cannon. Nick is making it his business. To make babies with every white woman he can. Now if you ask me, that's a modern form of birthing gentrification. Bitch, I just made up a word. I just made up a word. She did not. Make up a word. To be clear.
Oh my god. The rest of the video is just her cracking herself up as she throws around accusations about Nick Cannon. Mm-hmm. But all in all, this is a pretty tame video of hers. Okay. At this point, back in 2018, she has nearly a million followers for her YouTube channel. And, you know, her followers all tune in to her videos to hear the latest celebrity gossip. But Tasha's not trying to find like any nuance or humanity in celebrities.
She's not actually looking to do any deep dive into their character. She just wants to talk about any unfounded rumor that has come across her desk. But it makes sense. I get the vision of like I'm just getting drunk and talking about rumors like I would with my friends at a bar, except like you're doing it in front of a camera and then posting it for millions of people. Yeah. Today she's interviewing a woman named Star Marie Jones.
Star Marie claims to be Cardi B's ex-roommate from back in the day, but the two are not exactly friends anymore. Which is not really a surprise to me because I don't think any of Cardi's friends would be going on a wine vlog. Yeah. An old roommate is like never a friend.
That's a great point. You either like get married to them or they're your enemy. This is absolutely right. And Star Marie starts making some wild claims about Cardi B. Not to spoil the story, but we want to be perfectly clear from the jump here: Star Marie's claims are totally unfounded. Cardi will end up taking both Star Marie and Tasha to court to prove that their statements are completely false and defamatory. But to understand how we get there,
We unfortunately have to discuss what Star Marie said to kick this whole ordeal off. Basically, she accuses Cardi of being a sex worker, using cocaine and Molly, and having herpes. My God. Matt's jaw is hanging. She's trotting out the full list of offenses. Yeah. I want to take a second here to acknowledge that we don't want to contribute to the stigmatization of herpes, and we want to be very clear that.
Cardi doesn't have this STD. But unfortunately, this claim is what this entire story is based around. Right. If you have herpes and you are listening, you are love. Yes. So somewhere between 50 to 80% of American adults have oral herpes, and one out of every six people in the US between the ages of fourteen to forty-nine have genital herpes, which Truly blew my mind when I learned these numbers.
So even if you never show any symptoms, it's pretty likely that you've been exposed to herpes and it's just unfortunately a part of living life. Ja. Still a wild thing to say about a person. Oh, one thousand percent, because as we know, the stigma is still very alive. Mm-hmm.
¶ Defamatory Videos and Lawsuit Threat
So Tasha, of course, can't believe that she's gotten such juicy, salacious gossip on camera. And she's like, this is gonna get me a ton of clicks. But then, at least according to Cardi's later complaint, Tasha learns that some information is about to be published that could undermine Star Marie's credibility. The complaint doesn't get into the specifics of what that information is.
But according to Cardi's legal team, instead of scrapping the video, Tasha goes and posts it a day earlier than planned, ostensibly to try to get it out there before any news about Star Marie breaks. So yeah, just the complete opposite of a logical reaction. Yeah. Maybe I step back and reassess. No. No, no, no. Get it out faster. And this is super important to note. According to court records, Tasha knew at this time that Star Marie's claims may not have been true. And yet,
As I've said, she posts the video anyways. According to the same complaint, Tasha titles the video exclusive. Cardi B's ex-friend alleges Cardi B kept a huge box filled with monostat and reveals more. What a hook. But catchy, you can't deny. Oh, so catchy. Rolls off the tongue. Cardi watches this video, but she doesn't go nuclear yet. She just asks Tasha to take it down, because according to Cardi, it's defamatory and all false. But Tasha refuses.
Instead, she asks Cardi to come on her channel and refute the video. What? She's got a lot of nerve. And I think it's safe to say we all know Cardi B is going to refuse. Mm-hmm. She doesn't need to stoop down to some celebrity gossip vloggers level, but... Cardi does ask Tasha to take the video down. It's untrue and surely Tasha doesn't want to publish lies. Well. So that video, it gets more than 3 million views.
Wow, that's solid. For someone like Tasha, views are everything. It's how she makes her money. And so we've gotta imagine that she sees an opportunity. She sees that people want to hear about Cardi B and she's just gonna keep talking about her. Give the people what they want. Brace yourself. We're only the beginning of this. So Matt, I want you to guess over the next few months, how many videos do you think that Tasha releases about Cardi B?
I think a n a normal person amount would be like once a week. Hmm. Okay, so around like twelve. Over the course of a few months, yeah, sure. Twelve. Tasha releases at least Twenty three more videos about Cardi. All right, twice a week. There are some tamer claims. Like saying that Cardi B's husband offset cheats on her, which I'm like, okay. We all know that a little bit. Like, he might have reformed now, but she's not exactly saying anything revolutionary.
But then there are some truly wild and disturbing claims. We don't need to get into all of them here, but they are out of left field. And they're all about the things that Star Marie said? Mainly. But Tasha put it upon herself to build on those, you know, allegations. One widely reported claim was that she accused Cardi B of doing, I'll say, debasing acts. Involving a beer bottle. I don't want to get too far into it.
But those are just some of the videos. You know, so she's really just saying anything. I can't say that I know what's going on in Tasha Kay's mind, but the vitriol geared towards Cardi seems Bizarrely intense? But as it turns out, Tasha's been slamming Cardi for a while now. In fact, it goes back like months before she even interviewed Star Maurice.
And in one of those earlier videos, Tasha brings up Cardi's then unborn daughter, Culture, and dragging her into the mix will be her biggest mistake. Tasha says that the baby is going to be born with intellectual disabilities due to Cardi's life choices. No. Yeah, like you don't talk about pregnant women that way. You don't talk about children that way. No. And when that video gets back to Cardi, that's the one that makes her go like nuclear mama bear.
¶ Legal Battle Begins: Cardi vs Tasha
Okay, so now we're back to where we started and it seems that the insult about culture has finally made it back to Cardi. And this is when Cardi gets on Instagram Live and speaks to all of her followers. And I'm gonna sue that blogger because I'm sick of it.
Gathering all my fucking information, bitch. You wanna keep harassing me? You wanna keep harassing my friends? You wanna keep making shit up? Aye then bitch. I'm gonna take all your fing bread. This is not like a calculated behind the scenes legal response. She's not moving in silence. She is declaring a war and then following through on that threat. Like, why did you think she wouldn't?
Sure enough, Cardi makes good on that promise and she files a lawsuit against Tasha Kay. And even though the horribly insensitive claim about culture is what kicked off all of this legal action, Cardi doesn't bring that up in her lawsuit. Because that would mean having to drag her daughter into court, which is decidedly not something Cardi wants to do. So from here on out, we're not gonna mention it anymore. Like we are done talking about culture.
Instead, we're gonna be focusing on what Cardi focuses on, which are the claims that Tosh has made about her. More specifically, the one stating that Cardi has herpes, that she's done cocaine, and that she was a sex worker. Cardi's ready to fight to prove that none of that is true. What does Tasha do next? Oh, I almost want you to guess, because as much as Cardi's in the right here, Tasha is not gonna give up without a fight.
She decides to fight back with her own three million dollar counter strike. On w what grounds? What what lawyer is representing Tasha Kay like we have a case? I'm so glad you asked. Because Tasha says that Cardi B's been publicly trashing her online. Which has led to threats from Cardi B's fans and you know, a bunch of other turmoil in her life. Okay. Cardi B is probably single handedly paying that woman's bills.
So by driving traffic there. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Tasha's official counterclaim is for slander per se, which is just a type of defamation. She claims that Cardi is the one making false and defamatory statements about her. Ah yes. The I'm rubber you're glue legal defense. Tasha claims that Cardi's online responses to her have been defamatory and threatening.
Remember the clip we just played where Cardi says she's gonna take all Tasha's bread? Mm-hmm. Well, Tasha's claiming that those videos led to her receiving a ton of threats. including, according to Tasha, gang related threats. Not by Cardi herself, but by Cardi's fans. So So she's like, the fact that you responded to my outrageous claims, it's actually threatening my life.
Well, the judge is not buying it. Basically, he explains that Tasha provided no evidence that Cardi B personally threatened Tasha Nor could she show that Cardi had instructed her fans to threaten or intimidate Tasha, so he throws the claim out. He had the same reaction. Assault. He did. He was like, please. The same inflection. And also, my thing is like.
I don't think Cardi B is the type to sick her fans on you. She will just go after you herself. Right. Like she's not afraid. She doesn't need her followers to fight you. She will fight you herself. Yeah. She'll fight her own battles. But just because Tasha's countersuit is rejected doesn't mean that they're done. Cardi wants to see this lawsuit through to its conclusion, and that means that there's not gonna be any mediation, you know, they're not gonna meet in the middle or reach a settlement.
¶ Medical Records and Emotional Impact
And if that means she needs to release her medical records to prove that Tasha is lying, then so be it. Because remember, one of the claims that Tasha made was that Cardi has herpes. But Cardi says that that's a lie. So Cardi voluntarily discloses her STD results. Interesting. Of course, though, once Cardi B presents these results, Tasha's team immediately challenges the test. They're like
Hey, what if those are doctored? But Cardi's insistent and her legal team appeals to the judge. He once again sides with Cardi. And he orders UCLA hospital to send records of Cardi's STD test results directly to court for private inspection. So ridiculous. And it may seem ridiculous. Right now, but we're going to get into later how this herpes accusation actually, like very much so, hurts Cardi's quality of life. Oh.
Hello, I'm Matt Ford. And I'm Alice Levine. And we're the hosts of British Scandal. Now, Britain loves a royal scandal. Abdications, affairs, competitions. We've had the lot. But this series is about two brothers. Raised in palaces bound by tragedy, supposed to barely speaking. Was it jealousy, the press, the firm? Or was this royal rift always inevitable? This is the story of Harry and Wills and the scandal that split the House of Wills. Follow British ScandalWare.
Listen early and ad-free on Audible. Okay, so now it's the start of 2022. It's time for the trial to kick off in Atlanta. And if you're wondering how we got to Atlanta, it's because Tasha lives in Georgia, so that's where Cardi sued her. Another fun fact about Tasha, it becomes clear over the course of the trial that she has perhaps never watched a single legal show in her life because she clearly has no concept of how to act in a courtroom. How so?
Because when she takes the stand in this trial, she basically just flat out admits to making things up. What? According to a report by Law 360, she gets on the stand and she tells jurors. That she knowingly published lies about Cardi to generate money for her business. Otherwise known as the definition of libel, the
the claim that she's being sued for. Yeah, it doesn't get much more like on the nose of exactly the crime that you are are being charged with. Yeah, just giving it up as soon as you get on the stand. I'm just like, I wanna play devil's advocate and be like, what could she have been going for here? Was the defense like, yeah, I I did that, but it was for entertainment. So it's not actually libel or like
I think she heard tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth and she was like, first time in my life, okay, I guess. I have a conscience. Here it is. I guess I'll do it here. Matt, remember Star Marie Jones, the co-conspirator of this whole situation, so to speak? Right, the former roommate. Well, she moved to New York after Cardi sued her, so a separate lawsuit had to be filed. And she doesn't end up testifying for Cardi's side or Tasha Kay's side.
But that could be because her own lawsuit has already been put to bed. She was found liable for slander, libel, and invasion of privacy. So if Star Marie's case bears any indication, it is not looking good for Tasha, to say the least. Yeah, probably not. Now we have Cardi's side. And though it might seem obvious that Tasha slandered her, especially after getting on the stand and admitting to doing so, there's actually a pretty high bar for celebrities to win defamation lawsuits.
Right, because basically you'd have to prove that like this person affected your reputation in a bad way. Yeah. Cardi has to prove that Tasha's statements not only hurt her reputation. But that Tasha was also acting with actual malice. Mm-hmm. And that means that she either intentionally lied or acted with a reckless indifference to the truth. Okay. Was there mens Rhea?
Not to go legally blonde on it, but you have to have intent. Right, right. Personally it does feel a little bit based on everything we've learned that she did have a reckless indifference for the truth. Yeah. So Tasha kind of already admitted that she lied about Cardi to generate views on her videos. So that's taken care of. Now Cardi's main job is to prove that those lies had tangible effects on her and her livelihood. Right.
On the fourth day of trial, Cardi takes the witness stand and she talks about how Tasha's videos affected her own well-being. She admits that it got so bad that at one point she wanted to commit suicide over what Tasha said about her. Here's Cardi explaining this in her own words on the Jason Lee show. I kept telling people like I just I just wanna die. Like I just wish I was dead. I wanna be dead. I wanna be dead. I wanna be dead. I wasn't a celebrity, just a celebrity. I was somebody
that really wanted to be that. I was somebody that I couldn't see my kid or I didn't want to talk to my man. I didn't want to be around my friends because it just made me cry. I can't imagine how maddening that feels. Yeah. Like to have someone just spewing so many lies about you and knowing that like with each video More and more people. Or tuning in.
Uh yeah, especially on YouTube. Like I mean the internet in general, when it's like you can literally see the numbers and read the comments and stuff. It's like the paparazzi and tabloids have been around forever, but There's something about it being quantified on YouTube that makes it even worse. And the fact that like almost anyone can access that.
Yeah. Cardi's official court testimony isn't public, but in her complaint she states that Tasha falsely accused her of being a sex worker and using cocaine. So we can assume that she testifies to that fact. But those points are a little harder to prove one way or another. You know, like there's not some document that she can just bring in and be like, they tested every hair in my body, no cocaine ever. Right.
So, Cardi's legal team presents her medical records, which by this point have been verified by the court. They prove once and for all that she does not have HPV or herpes. Wow, she's among the lucky few without herpes or HPV. Matt, would you believe that you're talking to another of the lucky few? But just because it wasn't true doesn't mean that the lie didn't have ramifications.
Kind of the whole gist of why we're here. Mm-hmm. Cardi tells the court about one instance that was particularly painful for her. She had posted a photo of herself and her daughter culture kissing on the lips on social media, but then she was flooded with comments from users who questioned whether she should be kissing her daughter given that she had herpes. People didn't think she could be a good mother, and we know how much that hits Cardi where it hurts.
¶ Verdict, Appeals, and Content Removal
Mm-hmm. I think that would hurt anyone. Yeah. Ultimately, the jury sides with Cardi. They find Tasha Kay liable on two counts of slander and one count each of libel and invasion of privacy. The court awards Cardi four million dollars, which includes twenty-five thousand dollars to cover her medical expenses and one point three million for her legal fees. Damn. And it feels wild to celebrate that. Right. But it is. Like a celebration. And
God, I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's not just a win for Cardi. It's a win for all celebrities. Thank God. I go to sleep at night worrying about them. Worried. Oh, thank God that I can give you some solace. This defamation lawsuit just makes it that much harder for YouTube and online personalities such as yourself, Matthew, to publish unfounded rumors in the future. For the record, I have never slandered a celebrity.
Even though the trial may be over and Cardi's proven that Tasha lied, if you can believe it, Tasha's not quite done fighting back. No, she's gotta pay those bills somehow. Okay, so the trial is over. Tasha has admitted in court that she lied. And what do you think comes next for her? I mean, uh, she should be going peacefully into that good night, you know, just
Right. It's over. She posts a video and what do you think that video would be? Like an apology, right? That would be nice. Well, it's actually the opposite, Matt. I did the crimes and I'll do them again. She actually doubles down in this video. saying that her channel publishes news, which implies that everything she says is a fact. When it's not
She also goes on Twitter and says this. No lies were told on anyone. I never admitted to lying about anything. No one threw anyone under the bus. Mostly everything reported was a lie from the inside. The court transcripts will be available to the public soon. I forgot to add this into my speech. Read them. Dot dot. And then champagne clinking emoji. It's wild. Let's dissect this a bit. In court, according to that Law 360 report, Tasha admits that she knew she was publishing false information.
But now she's saying she didn't tell any lies. It's like, okay, so did you lie on the stand then? Or are you lying now? She's saying that everything reported from this trial is misinformation. Right. Cause everything that we would know about it would have come from like transcripts that came out or from like court reporters. It's confusing. But it is fun when someone who is accused of lying about someone is like, uh-uh, now they're lying about me. Yeah, it's a classic move.
from a liar. Tasha Kay is in straight up denial. She even goes on turnt out with T.S. Madison and gives an interview where she stands by her claim that she didn't make up lies about Cardi. Here's that clip. So what do you say to people who would say like, okay, all of your stories about her were fabricated? That's absolutely not true. And she knows that. Really? Yes. Tasha tells T.S. that she's appealing the trial's verdict.
And she thinks that the appellate court will overturn the original decision. And when the court records are eventually released, everyone will see that she's telling the truth. Classic person who is lost. In that appeal, Tasha argues that the judge withheld key details from jurors. And that the verdict was the result of a very lopsided trial. Okay. I mean, I'm intrigued but
I don't quite trust her legal expertise after what I've heard, so I don't have confidence. Well, I'm sorry to hear that, Matthew, because she vows to keep fighting the case all the way to the Supreme Court if need be. Even if it takes her years. I would love the Supreme Court to have to like learn who Cardi B and Tasha Kay are. Can you imagine? Yeah. John Roberts having to listen to Bodak Yellow. Amazing. I honestly think that would stop his heart. Just the pure shock of it. Fingers crossed.
¶ Bankruptcy, Apology, and Finality
But before her appeal reaches a conclusion, the judge orders her to take down more than twenty videos where she spewed false claims about Cardi B. He also bans Tasha from ever posting about Cardi again when it pertains to these specific subjects. Her drug use. Whether she has STDs or And the list goes on and on. I'm sure Tasha knows that list better than us because it is court mandated.
She's got it taped up on on the back of her desk. She's like, Okay, where can I still get some wiggle room to talk about this right? At first, Tasha refuses to comply with the order, but eventually she does take down the videos, which is why we only have some of them that were able to play here. But while the videos might be gone, that is only half the battle. Because if you'll remember,
Tasha now owes Cardi about$4 million. And getting Tasha to part with her money will be a lot harder than deleting a handful of videos. I mean, I know people make a lot of money from YouTube, but I don't think she'd make it for me. Yeah, I don't know if she's making four million dollar lawsuit money. Okay, so Tasha K owes Cardi B$4 million. But here's the thing: Tasha says that even if she wanted to pay up, Which obviously she does not.
She doesn't have the money. To which Cardi responds with a not so cryptic subtweet, if you'll read it for us, Matt. Okay, it looks like she missed a word. I think she means think this is a game, but trust, I'ma come for everything. Dot dot dot. B B H M M. Matt, if you had to guess, what does B B H M M stand for? I don't know. Bitch better have my money. Of course, yeah. Fans are quick to assume that she is quoting Rihanna's famous lyrics. Mm-hmm. So I'm not gonna speak for her to
But I'm gonna guess that she doesn't really care about an extra four million in her bank account. No. So much as she cares about the principle of it. Right. I think the main thing here is that she just wants to see Tasha punished for what she did. And that's why the damages are awarded here. It's not to reward Cardi, it's to discipline Tasha. And to serve as a warning to others like Tasha. Right. But Tasha seems determined to avoid paying up.
About seven months later, she posts on Instagram and casually mentions the possibility of moving to Africa. Okay. You know, as one does, she's basically Soft launching absconding. Yeah. It is just this woman has truly never seen any procedural or any legal show. Like she's just like Mm, maybe I'll run out of the country and Right. Like if that is the strategy, you need to do it in silence. Hush hush until the zip code has changed. Exactly. Like why don't you get there before you tweet about
Cardi's legal team asks the court for some security. The next month, the federal judge rules that Tasha either has to immediately pay the four million dollars. Which is not happening. No. Or secure a bond covering the entire amount. That way, even if she moves away or disappears into the wind, Cardi will get her money. I don't know what securing a bond means.
So bonds are issued by private lenders. It's essentially taking out a loan. And usually you would have to put a substantial amount down. But these bonds allow the losing litigant in civil cases. is to delay paying a full judgment while they appeal. So they're still on the hook for the money, but they don't have to pay it back just yet. Got it. But you do have to offer some kind of collateral. So even if she does leave They can seize whatever assets.
She has. Right. Of those two options, it seems like Tasha will have no choice but to get the bond. Because according to both her and her bank statement, She only has$1,083 in her bank account. Oh no. My God, how is she paying her rent? The thing is, like most people's bank accounts probably look like this. Yeah. The difference here is is that they are not openly baiting a celebrity and then getting themselves on the hook for four million dollars.
Right. I especially wouldn't do it if I only had a thousand dollars. Like, come on. I don't know if this will surprise you, but Tasha doesn't move to Africa. No. I know, it's hard to believe. Instead, she stays in the States and keeps fighting. But eventually, almost five years after this feud kicked off. Tasha loses her final appeal. At this point, she finally apologizes to Cardi. She posts on Twitter, if you'll read this for us, Matt. Okay, so it starts, damn Winos.
She calls her fans Winos. We lost the appeal against Cardi B. Sad day, but I'm gonna be alright. I appreciate all your love and support throughout this fight. Today we throw in the white flag. What happened will never happen again. To Cardi and her team, I apologize sincere. It is so funny that she calls her fans Winos.
I mean I've thrown that word around to talk about people who follow me because of my wine pass. Oh my god, you two are like twins. Basically, yeah. And also I have to wonder like If she had just sincerely apologized to Cardi at the beginning of all of this, if she had removed the videos and apologized to Cardi. I wonder if any of this would have happened. Yeah, it sounds like probably not. People underestimate apologies, I think. Yeah. That very same day,
Tasha follows up on that with another Instagram post making jokes about how poor she is. Matt, I'm going to show that to you now, and I would like you to describe it. No Why would she post this? Once again, uh I don't know if it's the best taste here. So it's a very poorly photoshopped picture. Uh it looks like a selfie, but over the selfie she has photoshopped a McDonald's uniform. Onto herself. Very poorly. Yes.
And the caption says, hashtag Tasha K Gets a Job. The emojis you have to describe the emojis. And then yeah, the like distraught faced emoji, clinking glass and running person. And then it says, I will let y'all know what part-time gig I get so I can pay off this damn debt. Hashtag I ain't got it, but I'm gonna get it. Running person, running person. Then she tags McDonald's, Wendy's Burger King. Any positions available?
I will do anything. Okay. So that's definitely a choice. It's a choice. She is embracing it in a very cringe way. And the comments are really supportive. Like shockingly so. Like she still has fans, I guess. I mean, yeah, that was gonna be one of my other questions, which is like, who is on her side? Are there like Tasha Kay fans where like hardcore, we're on your side? Yeah, I mean this post has over nine thousand likes.
Like there are people tuning in to what she has to say. Okay. I don't know if it was worth four million dollars. No, I don't think so, but you can buy followers for less. Yeah, that's true. So even though Tasha Kay is making fun of herself and showing or implying that she's destitute, Cardi has zero sympathy. She keeps at her collection efforts because no matter what. She wants Tasha to pay up. Except Just two months later. Tasha files for bankruptcy. Mm-hmm.
So while this feud seems to have come to a close, at least on a personal front, it's not clear if Cardi will ever, in fact, get her money. And the bankruptcy might have actually been a tactic because Very recently, Cardi B was told to halt her collection efforts from Tasha Kay. Okay. So
She might have found a loophole. I mean, it doesn't sound like she was getting that money anyway, but No. You know, save herself the trouble. Cardi was like, I'm gonna take all your bread and she meant it. She meant it. That's right. Okay, so we covered a lot in this episode. We did. Really wide-ranging. I mean, we gotta do herpes stigma, civil court procedure, defamation, definitions. Ютуб чана з револ. The peril of making a YouTube channel centered around drinking wine.
Oh my god. And we have a first hand source. Yeah, it could have been me. Could have been me threatening to move to Africa to get out of paying four million dollars to Cardi B. Never say never. There's still a chance. This is Cardi B and Tasha Kay. The show is hosted by the Me, Sidney Battle. And me, Matt Belisai. We use many sources in our research. Few that were particularly helpful were vices Cardi B may have been.
Gossip Pages as We Know Them by Kristen Corey and Cardi B's official complaint in the United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division. We discuss Cardi B's suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, the suicide and crisis lifeline can be reached at nine eight eight. The National Alliance on Mental Illness is available at 800-950-6264. Additional resources are available in our show notes.
Alex Burns wrote this episode. Our lead producer is Kate Downey. Yasmin Ward is our producer, and Jake Dvorsky is our associate producer. Our story editors are Alex Burns and Greg Castro. Senior producer is Peter Johansson. Sound design is by Kelly Krimeric. Additional audio support by Adrian Tapia. Audio editing by Steve Maser. Back checking by the U.S. Our music supervisor is Scott Velazquez for Free Zone Sync. Our senior managing producer is Ryan Lohr. Our coordinating producers are Chin.
and Sophia Martins. Our executive producers are Janine Cornell. Stephanie Jens and Marshall Lewis for Wonders.
