Cardi B has caused controversy by holding a baby close to her chest and breastfeeding in her new music video.
The video for new single, Money, dropped yesterday (December 21) and sent the Twitter-sphere into a frenzy almost immediately.
Not because of the lyrics, or her rapping, or anything remotely relevant to the song at all – but because of one particular part of the video where she appears to breastfeed a baby.
In the video Cardi doesn’t hold back; she treats fans to glimpses of lavish outfits throughout, as well as shots of her in various boxes and cages and, of course, lots of money.
A nod to her previous days as a stripper, Money includes lyrics such as ‘big fat checks, big large bills / Front, I’ll flip like ten cartwheels / Cold ass b*tch, I give broads chills / Ten different looks and my looks all kill’.
The 26-year-old rapper has always been upfront and honest about her previous career, refusing to shy away from it and unapologetically being herself.
In an interview with Cosmopolitan, she said:
People say, ‘Why do you always got to say that you used to be a stripper? We get it.’ Because y’all don’t respect me because of it, and y’all going to respect these strippers from now on… Just because somebody was a stripper don’t mean they don’t have no brain
But this hasn’t been what people are focusing on since the video dropped. Instead, they can’t stop talking about one specific part in the video.
As Cardi raps –
I got a baby, I need some money, yeah
– the screen cuts to a shot of her standing, almost topless, holding a baby to her chest, appearing to breastfeed.
You can watch the video below:
Soon after its release, the social media world was flooded with both positive and negative comments regarding the rapper’s decision to breastfeed.
While some praised her for empowering women and celebrating her body, calling her a ‘queen’, others were not so impressed.
One person wrote:
Ew no one wants to see u breastfeeding in a video lol @iamcardib
While another wrote:
Some of these women old and young have no respect!! And wonder why they can’t keep a man!!
And another said:
Cardi B is such trash we take 1 step forward to stop sexualizing breastfeeding and she sends us 50 steps back
Mostly though, people recognised that this was a positive thing for women everywhere and wanted to congratulate the I Like It rapper for being true to herself.
Many thanked her for representing single mums and showing the world how powerful they truly are; Cardi recently split with her husband Offset, just months after the birth of their daughter, Kulture Kiari Cephus.
Despite rumours of cheating, Cardi insisted that their break-up was ‘nobody’s fault’ and that they simply ‘grew out of love’.
Regardless, people made it clear how much respect they have for her:
You just got to keep on doing you.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).