Cardi B and her sister sued over altercation with group displaying Trump flag, MAGA hat
Cardi B, her sister and her sister's partner were named in a lawsuit seeking damages for a beach altercation earlier this month with a group of people displaying a flag with the name of President Donald Trump, according to a case filed Monday in New York State Supreme Court.
The rapper's sister, Hennessy Carolina — whose full name is Hennessy Carolina Almánzar — is accused of battering, assaulting, threatening and defaming three people who gathered on a New York beach near a vehicle flying the Trump flag, one of whom was wearing what the suit describes as a "MAGA hat." MAGA is short for "Make America Great Again," one of Trump's campaign slogans.
Cardi B and model Michelle Diaz, Carolina's partner, are also named in the suit for their alleged roles in defaming and libeling the trio in subsequent online social media posts.
Plaintiffs Manuel Alarcon, Peter Caliendo and Pauline Caliendo allege that in the September argument over parking at Smith Point Beach on Long Island, Carolina lobbed obscenities and violent threats at them and their families. In doing so, the suit claims, she assaulted and battered them by potentially exposing them to coronavirus through "copious spraying of spittle."
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The suit says that Carolina "knew or should have known that her spraying of spittle upon Plaintiffs at a time when COVID-19 virus infection was a nation-wide threat to all persons in the U.S., was assaulting, threatening and intimidating to said Plaintiffs."
"These peaceful Suffolk County residents were quietly enjoying a Sunday at the Smith Point beach with their families, when rap celebrity Hennessy Carolina suddenly approached them, raging, spitting, insulting, assaulting, defaming and threatening them, all the while videotaping them, because one of them wore a MAGA hat,” their attorney John Ray said in a press release Monday.
The suit does not allege any physical injuries or Covid cases. Ray said his clients seek "substantial damages."
Reached by telephone Tuesday, Ray declined to share more details with NBC News.
In a video posted on Cardi B's Twitter account on September 6, Carolina and Diaz are seen arguing with two men and a woman on a beach.
"...[M]y sister can’t go to the beach in the Hampton’s wit out trump supporters harassing cause they were by themselves & Santa Claus was harassing my sis GF all because they are a Afro/Hispanic gay couple," Cardi B wrote to more her more than 14 million followers.
Responding to a tweet by California Republican Congressional candidate Buzz Patterson that insinuated Carolina started the fight, Cardi B later tweeted, "Nooooo that big pink man was harassing my sister girlfriend to move her car for no reason and then my sister came there had a back and forth and they stood quit when she Wip that phone out."
The "WAP" and "Bodak Yellow" rapper, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, also shared screen recordings of voice messages her sister sent to her recounting the incident.
Cardi B, Carolina and Diaz are all accused of defaming the trio and violating their civil right to privacy by publishing the video online, in which the plaintiffs are variously called "racist," "Karen," "pink man" and "Santa Claus."
Emails to Carolina’s team and Diaz did not receive a response. A representative for Cardi B said the rapper had no comment.
Last year, Cardi B pleaded not guilty to felony assault and reckless endangerment charges over a strip club brawl.
